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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


PEAK'S   ISLAND 


A   ROMANCE 


FORD     PAUL 


PORT  r,  AM),     MAIM, 

PUBLISHED    BV   THE    AUTILoi: 


PtESS  OF  BROWN   THURSTON   CO.,   PORTLAND 


fS 


DEDICATED  TO 

<£ora  Caroline  (fclfttorfc 

AS   A   SMALL  TRIBUTE  OF  GREAT  LOVE 
BY  THE  AUTHOR 

FORD  PAUL 


550578 


CHAPTER  I. 

Roll  on  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean  roll ; 

Upon  the  watery  plain. 

The  wrecks  are  all  thy  deed,  nor  doth  remain 

A  shadow  of  man's  ravage,  save  his  own, 

When  for  a  moment  like  a  drop  of  rain, 

He  sinks  into  thy  depths  with  bubbling  groan, 

Without  a  grave,  unknelled,  uncoffined,  and  unknown. 

SEPTEMBER  27,  1607. 

AD  bodies  everywhere.  The  ocean,  lashed 

j 

to  fury  by  the  gale  of  yesterday,  came 
booming  and  hissing  upon  the  beach  in 
great  breakers  white  with  foam  ;  each  bil 
low  as  it  dashed  upon  the  jagged  and  broken  rocks 
bore  in  its  terrible  embrace  still  more  human  vic 
tims,  or  some  portion  of  the  two  unlucky  ships  that 
were  fast  breaking  up.  One  wedged  in  between 
two  rocks  with  just  sufficient  play  to  allow  of  its 
heaving  from  side  to  side,  with  every  wave  that 
struck  it.  The  other  and  much  larger  vessel,  the 
Queen  Elizabeth,  a  fine  British  ship,  which  had 
sailed  from  England  freighted  with  a  cargo  of  gen 
eral  merchandise  for  the  colony  of  Virginia,  went 
crashing  up  against  the  cruel  stone  teeth  of  the 
cliff  which  overhung  and  projected  into  the  angry 
sea;  dismasted,  her  bulwarks  and  rigging  torn  away 
she  floated  out  into  deeper  water  only  to  be  driven 
back  again  upon  the  rocks,  by  the  violence  of  the 
wind  and  the  rapidly  incoming  tide. 


6  PEAK'S  ISLAND, 

Another  crash  and  another,  the  forecastle  car 
ried  away,  the  decks  opening,  bales,  chests,  cor 
dage,  stores  of  all  sorts  tossed  high  up  on  the 
shore,  more  dead  bodies — chiefly  of  men,  for  they 
had  some  time  before  given  up  to  the  few  women 
and  children  the  now  capsized  and  shattered  boats. 
All  along  the  shore,  as  far  as  eye  could  see,  the 
beach  was  composed  of  a  heterogeneous  mass  of 
enormous  fragments  of  rock  thrown  together  and 
piled  up  on  each  other,  leaving  here  and  there  in 
their  midst  a  separate  pool  of  sea  water  ;  in  some 
of  these  pools  was  a  dead  body  or  two,  but  by  far 
the  greater  number  were  lying  in  every  imaginable, 
distorted  position  among  the  huge,  irregular  blocks 
of  stone.  Many,  who  had  been  washed  in  suffic 
iently  far  to  escape  drowning,  were  killed  by  the 
force  with  which  they  were  dashed  on  shore  :  there, 
with  broken  bones  and  gnashed  and  blood-stained 
bodies,  they  slept  in  death,  like  men  who  had  fall 
en  in  some  great  battle.  It  was  noon,  but  not  a 
ray  of  sunlight  glinted  across  the  ghastly  scene. 
Every  sound  was  lost  in  the  terrific  roar  of  the 
great,  heaving  hills  of  water,  which  rolled  in  con 
tinuously  ;  huge  masses  of  wet  gray  cloud  hung 
over  all,  obscuring  or  transforming  every  visible  ob 
ject.  Far  up  among  the  shingle  lay  one  human 
form  which  still  bore  signs  of  life.  It  was  that  of 
a  young  lady,  attired  in  deep  mourning,  a  stream 
of  blood  trickled  down  the  pale  face,  and  from  time 
to  time  one  hand  moved  convulsively  toward  a 
deep  cut  in  her  head  as  if  to  assuage  the  pain;  pre 
sently  in  half-consciousness  she  whispered  "  Do  not 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  7 

tell  my  mother  I  am    hurt,  it  would  grieve  her. 
She  has  had  too  much  sorrow  already." 

The  beloved  mother,  and  all  others  who  had  made 
life  precious  to  the  speaker,  had  three  years  pre 
viously,  been  tenderly  laid  to  rest  in  their  quiet 
graves  thousands  of  miles  away ;  but  at  this  mo 
ment   the  mind  had  only  half  awakened.     A  few 
minutes  later  her  brain  was  clear  and  active,  and 
the  truth  flashed  upon  her  in  all  its  force.     The 
recollection  of  her  bereavement  and  the  fact  of  her 
being  utterly  alone  in  life,  were  the  first  thoughts 
that  came  and  the  thoughts  which  dominated.  And 
so  it  is  that  all  who  are  called  upon  to  endure  a 
great  sorrow,  acutely  realize  that  sorrow  again  and 
again  with  each  return  of    the  mind  to  the  con 
sciousness  of  human  existence,  whether  it  be  after 
the  delerium  of  fever,  the  stunning  from  an  acci 
dent,  or  the  awaking  each  morning  to  daily  life. 
With  the  awaking  to  our  senses  assurely   comes 
the  old  heartache;  nay,  before  we  awake  it  is  there, 
and  before  we  are  conscious  of  aught  else  we  are 
conscious  of  the  grief  which  weighs  heaviest  on 
our  soul.     Thus  it  was  with  AnnaVyvyan:   the 
awaking  to  life  brought  with  it  the  pain  in  all  its 
intensity,   although    she,    lay    there   on   the    cold 
stones,  her  clothing  drenched  through  and  through, 
bareheaded,  her  hair  matted  together  with  the  sea 
water,  bruised  and  cut  and  faint  from  exhaustion, 
still  the  present  physical  suffering  seemed  by  com 
parison  nothing  to  her.     Everything  was  buried  in 
the   sorrow  of  the  past,  the  sorrow  that  she  had 
lived  through,  but  had  not  left  behind. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  stately-homes  of  England 

How  beautiful  they  stand, 
Amidst  their  tall  ancestral  trees, 

O'er  all  the  pleasant  land ! 
The  deer  across  their  greensward  bound 

Through  shade  and  sunny  gleam, 
And  the  swan  glides  past  them  with  the  sound 

Of  some  rejoicing  stream. 

The  merry  homei  of  England  — 

Around  their  hearths  by  night, 
What  gladsome  looks  of  household  love 

Meet  in  the  ruddy  light ! 
There  women's  voice  flows  forth  in  song 

Or  childhood's  tale  is  told 
Or  lips  move  tunefully  along 

Some  glorious  page  of  old. 

The  blessed  homes  of  England, 

How  softly  on  their  bowers, 
Is  laid  the  holy  quietness 

That  breathes  from  Sabbath  hours 
Solemn,  yet  sweet,  the  church  bell's  chime 

Floats  through  their  woods  at  morn, 
All  other  sounds  at  that  still  time 

Of  breeze  and  leaf  are  born. 

,ISS  VIVYAN  was  the  daughter  of  an 
officer  of  high  rank  in  the  navy  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  who  lost  his  life  in  the  royal 
service  while  his  little  girl  Anna  was  still 
very  young.  His  valor  had  gained  for  him  many 
medals  and  yet  more  substantial  honors  in  the  form  of 
valuable  grants  of  land  from  Her  Majesty.  This 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  9 

property,  added  to  the  family  inheritance  of  Anna's 
mother,  who  was  a  lady  of  old  and  noble  race,  left 
both  the  widow  and  her  child  in  very  affluent  cir 
cumstances.  The  young  widow,  handsome  and 
possessed  of  brilliant  talents,  attracted  many  suitors 
for  her  hand ;  but  her  heart  lay  far  down  beneath  the 
sea  with  her  dead  husband,  and  she  resolved  to  de 
vote  her  love  and  her  life  to  the  care  of  her  child. 
She  accordingly  retired  to  an  old  manor  house  on 
the  borders  of  Wales,  which  had  descended  to  her 
through  many  generations.  The  great  stone  halls 
and  corridors,  the  long,  low  rooms  and  the  little  dia 
mond-shaped  window  panes,  admitting  so  small  an 
amount  of  light,  might  have  given  to  some  minds  a 
feeling  of  gloom  ;  but  both  mother  and  daughter  had 
their  occupations,  the  one  in  giving,  the  other  in  re 
ceiving,  an  education,  beside  the  care  of  all  the  sick 
and  poor  peasants  of  the  neighborhood.  Indeed 
they  were  so  happy  in  their  affection  for  each  other 
and  found  so  much  to  do,  that  they  had  neither  the 
time  nor  the  inclination  to  cultivate  morbid  or 
gloomy  thoughts,  which  would,  they  felt,  make  their 
companionship  an  infliction  on  every  one  whom 
they  approached,  and  unfit  them  for  the  duties  of 
their  position.  So  life  went  on  calmly  and  happily 
with  them. 

A  faithful  steward  attended  to  the  estates  and  a 
good  old  housekeeper  managed  the  servants,  always 
keeping  order,  discipline  and  peace  in  the  estab 
lishment.  Twice  a  year  they  were  allowed  to  have 
a  dance  in  the  servants'  hall,  one  at  Christmas  and 
the  other  on  Anna's  birthday,  on  which  occasions 


10  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

they  invited  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  neigh 
boring  farmers,  and  the  tradespeople  who  supplied 
the  manor  house.  The  village  shoemaker,  the 
tailor,  and  the  blacksmith  were  the  musicians,  and 
to  the  strains  of  two  violins  and  a  clarionet,  they 
merrily  danced  through  the  livelong  night,  such 
good  old  figures  as  Sir  Roger  de  Coverly,  Speed 
the  Plough,  and  the  Cushion  dance,  till  the  rising 
sun  streamed  in  at  the  windows  and  warned  them 
that  it  was  time  to  blow  out  the  candles,  take  off 
their  holiday  garb,  and  assume  their  daily  work. 
As  for  the  mistress  of  the  mansion,  she  found  her 
pleasures  in  the  duties  of  her  position  and  the  rich 
companionship  of  a  well  stocked  library.  She  had 
no  neighbors  of  her  own  rank  within  several  miles 
distance,  no  one  to  visit  or  to  be  visited  by,  with 
the  exception*  of  the  old  bachelor  clergyman  of  the 
parish,  whose  formal  calls  took  place  at  stated  in 
tervals,  unless  some  sudden  case  of  want  among" 
the  poor  caused  him  to  ask  her  aid,  for  he  knew 
very  well  that  her  heart  and  hand  went  forth  on 
every  occasion  of  distress.  Hers  it  was  to  soothe 
and  cheer  and  comfort  and  help,  and  many  a  thorny 
path  was  made  smooth  and  many  a  heavy  burden 
lifted  by  her  brave  and  generous  spirit  and  the  pleas 
ant,  cheerful  way  she  had  of  doing  such  things.  In 
the  presence  of  others  she  made  a  duty  of  culti 
vating  cheerfulness  of  manner.  Not  that  she  ever 
for  a  moment  forgot  the  recollection  of  her  love 
and  her  loss;  but  she  considered  her  sorrows  too 
sacred  for  a  subject  of  conversation  on  one  hand, 
and  on  the  other,  that  her  grief  was  her  own,  and 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  H 

that  she  had  no  right  to  intrude  it  upon  others,  or 
to  weigh  down  and  sadden  their  lives  by  what  was 
sent  for  her  to  bear.  Hence  her  presence  was 
always  welcome  to  the  peasants,  who  regarded  her 
with  reverence  and  affection,  as  she  passed,  accom 
panied  by  her  little  daughter,  from  cottage  to  cot 
tage  leaving  some  dainty  for  the  sick,  or  an  article 
of  clothing  for  the  needy. 

Years  went  by  and  Anna  had  left  babyhood  far 
behind  her  and  was  now  a  girl  of  fifteen.  Her 
mother  at  this  period,  decided  that  it  was  time  to 
call  in  the  aid  of  masters  to  assist  in  her  daugh 
ter's  education.  Accordingly,  such  were  summoned 
from  a  distant  town.  There  was  a  master  for  the 
minuette  and  the  gavotte,  a  master  for  the  harp 
sichord,  a  master  for  the  French  and  Italian  lan 
guages,  and  so  on.  The  days  and  hours  were  all 
laid  out  systematically,  giving  an  abundance  of 
time  for  physical  training  and  out-door  life,  but 
with  the  exception  of  the  masters  for  music  and 
dancing  (more  especially  the  former)  none  of  these 
instructors  made  much  impression  upon  the  girl's 
mind.  Her  heart  and  soul  were  given  to  music 
While  she  was  in  the  house  her  time  was  spent 
between  the  old  church  organ  that  stood  in  the 
hall,  and  the  harpsicord  which  adorned  the  long, 
oak-panelled  drawing-room.  When  out  of  doors 
she  was  forever  listening  to  the  music  of  nature, 
the  wind  through  the  trees,  the  dash  of  the  water 
fall,  the  rippling  of  the  brook,  all  had  their  charm 
and  fascination,  for  nature  never  played  out  of 
tune.  She  would  try  to  make  out  what  key  these 


12  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

sounds  were  in,  whether  they  varied  at  different 
seasons,  or  if  change  in  the  weather  made  them 
alter, 

Music  was  her  passion,  her  love,  her  life. 

Just  at  that  time,  two  new  inmates  were  added 
to  the  manor  house  family.  Young  Cecil  Vyvyan, 
a  cousin  of  Anna's,  who  was  of  the  same  age  as 
herself,  and  his  tutor,  Dr.  Strickland,  a  grave,  mid 
dle-aged  Scotch  doctor  of  philosophy.  The  boy's 
parents  were  in  India,  which  caused  the  widow  to 
suggest  to  them  that  he  should,  for  a  few  years, 
make  his  home  with  her,  in  order  that  she  might 
watch  over  his  health,  which  was  exceedingly  deli 
cate. 

It  was  in  the  twilight  of  a  day  late  in  the  au 
tumn  that  Anna  waited  in  the  large  old-fashioned 
library  to  make  the  first  acquaintance  of  her 
cousin.  In  the  broad  stone  fireplace,  logs  of  beech 
and  chestnut  were  piled  up  on  the  hearth,  across 
brass  dogs,  where  they  blazed,  and  glowed,  and 
lighted  up  the  comfortable  looking  room,  with  its 
dark,  massive,  carved  oak  furniture,  its  painted 
glass  windows,  its  rich  but  faded  velvet  draperies, 
interspersed  here  and  there  with  a  piece  of  old  tap 
estry,  the  needlework  of  the  ladies  of  former  gen 
erations.  A  few  family  portraits,  and  well-filled 
bookcases  of  vellum-bound  octavos,  quartos  and 
folios.  As  the  butler  threw  open  the  door  of  the 
room  and  announced  Master  Cecil  Vyvyan,  Anna 
went  forward  to  greet  the  latter,  and  almost  gave  a 
start  of  surprise  at  seeing  the  real  cousin  differ  so 
much  from  the  ideal  one  which  she  had  pictured  to 


BUCCANEER  DAYS  13 

herself;  for  she  expected  to  find  Cecil  of  the  same 
type  as  the  English  boys  that  she  had  always  seen. 
She  thought  he  would  be  large  of  his  age,  with  a 
fresh  rosy  complexion,  bright  eyes,  an  open  coun 
tenance,  crowned  with  masses  of  rich,  curling 
locks.  Strong  and  healthy,  overflowing  with  buoy 
ant  spirits,  agile  .and  ready  for  active  service  either 
of  work  or  play.  Instead  of  which  there  stood  be 
fore  her  one  of  small  stature  and  thin,  diminutive 
figure,  with  a  pale,  weary-looking  face  and  tired 
eyes,  which  apparently  did  not  observe  any  of  the 
objects  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  but  concen 
trated  their  gaze  upon  the  young  girl  only,  with 
whom  he  stood  face  to  face,  carefully  regarding  her 
with  that  scrutiny  which  we  are  all  wont  to  use 
when  we  first  make  the  acquaintance  of  a  new  rel 
ative. 

Anna  gave  him  her  hand  and  welcomed  .him 
with  a  few  kind  words.  As  the  boy  and  girl  stood 
there,  no  two  cousins  could  have  appeared  more 
externally  unlike,  and  yet  never  were  two  more 
alike  in  their  highest  tastes  and  deepest  feelings. 
But  an  ordinary  looker-on  would  only  see  the  boy 
so  small,  and  quiet,  and  weary,  and  the  girl  so  tall, 
and  active,  and  healthy,  abounding  in  lively  spirits, 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  young  life,  with  the 
mother  she  adored,  thinking  nothing  could  be  more 
beautiful  than  her  picturesque  old  home  and  its 
surroundings  of  hill  and  valley,  and  woodland,  and 
broad  green  meadows,  and  turning  over  in  her 
mind  how  she  would  show  Cecil  all  the  favorite 
huants.  The  lily  pond  in  the  park,  the  finest  view 


14  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

of  the  Welsh  mountains,  and  the  right  place  for  a 
good  gallop  —  then  the  ponies,  and  the  dogs,  and 
the  fish  pools. 

"You  must  be  tired  from  so  long  a  journey, 
Cousin  Cecil,"  said  she,  "let  me  bring  this  arm 
chair  ;  it  is  the  most  restful  one  in  the  whole  house. 
It  has  a  pedigree,  too,  the  same  as  you  and  I  have. 
It  belonged  to  our  great-grandfather,  Sir  Vyell 
Vyvyan,  and  was  made  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago  from  one  of  the  oaks  which  grew  in  the  north 
grove  in  the  park,"  so  saying  she  laid  one  hand  on 
the  back  of  a  huge,  cumbersome  piece  of  furniture, 
and  rolled  it  across  the  room  up  in  front  of  the 
glowing  logs. 

It  was  now  Cecil's  turn  to  be  amazed,  how  could 
she  move  that  great,  clumsy  thing,  he  pondered  to 
himself,  I  could  not.  With  a  gentle  thank  you, 
and  bowing  gracefully  to  her,  he  sank  into  their 
great-grandfather's  chair,  and  was  almost  lost  sight 
of  among  the  ample  velvet  cushions. 

Anna  who  had  seated  herself  on  one  side  of  the 
fireplace,  was  watching  the  pale  face,  and  the 
weary  eyes  that  were  looking  dreamily  at  the  fan 
tastic  shapes  which  from  time  to  time  the  glowing 
embers  assumed.  Presently  a  slight,  convulsive 
shudder  passed  through  the  boy's  frame  and  a  quiet 
little  sigh  escaped  him. 

He  is  sad,  thought  Anna,  perhaps  he  is  thinking 
of  his  home  in  Calcutta,  poor  fellow,  I  must  do 
something  to  amuse  him.  At  the  same  instant, 
what  she  considered  a  very  happy  thought  sug 
gested  itself. 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  15 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  came,  Cousin  Cecil,"  said  she 
"  they  say  you  will  soon  get  well  and  strong  here. 
I  have  a  little  terrier  that  catches  rats,  you  shall 
take  him  out  in  the  morning,  if  you  like,  and  the 
gardener's  boy  will  show  you  where  you  can  kill 
plenty." 

"  I  don't  kill  rats,"  he  replied,  still  keeping  his 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  burning  logs  and  striving  to 
follow  the  outlines  of  a  fairy  island  with  palms  and 
tropical  plants  and  ferns  as  tall  as  forest  trees, 
which,  in  his  imagination,  he  saw  there. 

"  Do  you  go  with  your  terrier  to  kill  rats  ?  "  he 
inquired,  with  the  slightest  tone  of  sarcasm  in  his 
voice. 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  the  girl,  "  but  I  thought  you 
would  like  to.  Most  boys  are  amused  by  it,  they 
call  it  sport,  and  you  know  the  rats  must  be  killed 
or  we  should  have  them  running  behind  the  wain 
scot  of  all  the  rooms  in  the  house,  and  the  game 
keeper  would  not  be  able  to  rear  the  young  pheas 
ants,  and  we  should  have  no  chickens  nor  pigeons, 
nor  anything  of  the  kind." 

"Why,  Cousin  Anna,"  said  the  boy,  "have  you 
a  Scotch  governess,  and  does  she  make  you  give  a 
reason  for  eveVy  thing,  and  give  you  her  reason  in 
return  ?  That's  what  Dr.  Strickland  does  with  me. 
It  tires  me  dreadfully,  and  I  don't  see  what  use  it 
is,  for  I  always  know  things  without  reasoning 
about  them;  they  come  to  me  of  themselves." 

Anna,  in  her  eagerness  to  show  kindness  to  the 
guest  of  the  house,  and  to  divert  what  seemed  to 
her  his  sad  thoughts,  did  not  stop  to  make  any 


16  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

reply,  but  rose  and  hastily  crossed  over  to  one  of 
the  bookcases,  bringing  back  in  her  arms  a  large 
folio,  full  of  colored  illustrations  of  field  sports. 

"  Now,  Cousin  Cecil,"  said  she,  drawing  up  a 
chair  close  by  the  side  of  his,  and  laying  the  folio 
open  upon  her  lap,  "this  will  please  you  I  am  sure; 
this  is  not  about  rats,  but  thorough-bred  horses 
and  dogs,  stag-hounds  and  fox-hounds.  Did  you 
ever  hear  that  our  grandfather  kept  a  pack  of  fox 
hounds  here,  that  is  a  hundred  dogs  you  know.  I 
will  take  you  to  the  kennels  and  the  huntman's 
lodge  some  day  soon." 

Cecil  did  not  know  that  a  hundred  dogs  made  a 
pack,  for  he  had  passed  all  his  life  in  India,  until  a 
few  months  previous  to  his  coming  to  the  manor 
house. 

"  Look  at  this  picture  of  coursing,  here  is  another 
of  hawking,  and  now  see  these  otter  hounds." 

"  The  landscape  is  beautiful,"  said  the  boy.  "  I 
like  the  soft  gray  light  on  those  distant  hills  in  the 
background,  but  I  do  not  care  about  pictures  of 
horses  and  dogs  ;  please  take  them  away.  I  like 
to  see  the  animals  moving  in  the  fields,  but  I  think 
all  this  kind  of  sport  is  very  cruel." 

This  was  said  in  an  extremely  gentle  way,  and  at 
the  same  time  with  an  inflection  of  the  voice  which 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  listener.  I  won 
der  what  I  can  do  to  amuse  him,  thought  Anna  ;  I 
don't  suppose  he  would  care  to  look  at  my  last 
piece  of  embroidery,  or  hear  how  many  sonatas  I 
can  play  ;  I  am  afraid  he  is  sorry  he  came  here, 
perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  the  Himalaya  moun- 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  17 

tains,  when  he  said  he  liked  those  hills  in  the 
picture.  Most  boys  like  out-door  amusements,  she 
again  thought  to  herself,  and  acting  upon  the  idea 
of  the  moment, 

"  Cecil,"  said  she,  "  we  have  two  capital  ponies, 
we  will  go  out  in  the  forenoon  to-morrow  if  you 
like,  for  we  are  to  have  a  holiday  from  our  studies 
all  day,  in  honor  of  your  coming  here." 

Again  a  gentle  "  thank  you"  from  Cecil,  his  tired 
eyes  still  seeking  air  castles  among  the  red  and 
gray  embers  of  the  fire.  After  some  minutes 
silence,  he  turned  to  look  at  the  tall  old  clock  in  the 
corner,  which,  in  addition  to  the  hours  and  minutes 
depicted  upon  its  face,  was  adorned  with  supposed 
likenesses  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  other  heavenly 
bodies,  beside  the  terrestrial  globe  which  repre 
sented  Jerusalem  as  being  situated  in  the  very 
center  of  the  earth's  surface. 

The  same  old  clock,  which  had  stood  in  the  same 
corner  of  the  library  long  enough  to  mark  the 
hours  of  the  births  and  marriages,  the  meetings 
and  partings,  and  death,  of  several  generations  of 
the  Vyvyans,  now  chimed  in  slow,  subdued  tones, 
through  which  ran  the  echo  of  a  wail,  like  the 
voice  of  a  human  being,  who  has  seen  much  and 
suffered  much. 

"  Dr.  Strickland  will  expect  me  to  return  to  him 
now,  Cousin  Anna,  so  I  must  say  "good  evening." 

"  Before  you  go,  Cecil,  tell  me  at  what  time  you 
will  be  ready  to  ride  with  me  to-morrow  ? " 

"I  must  ask  my  tutor,"  he  replied. 

"  Very  well,  [you  can  let  me  know  at  breakfast 


18  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

time.  I  suppose  you  can  find  your  way  to  your 
part  of  the  house,  follow  straight  along  the  corridor 
till  you  come  to  the  south  wing  at  the  end.  Your 
study  and  all  the  other  rooms  for  you  and  Dr. 
Strickland  are  there.  Good  night." 

The  next  day  the  ponies  were  brought  round  to 
the  hall  door  immediately  after  luncheon,  and  the 
boy  and  girl  were  mounted.  Cecil,  whose  chief 
mode  of  locomotion  had  hitherto  been  in  a  palan 
quin,  did  not  by  any  means  enjoy  his  present  situa 
tion;  but  as  he  made  no  remark,  his  cousin  supposed 
he  was  as  pleased  and  jubilant  at  having  an  oppor 
tunity  of  seeing  the  beautiful  surroundings  of  the 
place  as  she  was  showing  them.  They  rode  through 
the  park,  down  the  long  avenue  of  oaks  and  beeches, 
and  out  by  the  keeper's  lodge  to  the  lake,  and  then 
away  over  the  hill  among  the  scattered  cottages 
of  the  peasants,  who  touched  their  hats  or  cour- 
tesied  as  the  cousins  rode  by.  Anna  always  re 
turning  their  salutations  with  some  pleasant  word 
or  nod,  or  an  inquiry  after  their  welfare.  At  last 
they  turned  their  ponies  homeward.  The  boy  all 
the  while  silent  ;  the  girl  chattering  and  explaining 
and  repeating  anecdotes  which  had  been  told  to 
her,  and  laughing  merrily  at  the  ludicrous  passages 
in  them.  As  they  were  again  entering  the  park, 
the  boy's  riding  whip  slipped  out  of  his  hand  and 
fell  to  the  ground.  Looking  at  his  cousin  with  a 
grave  expression  of  face,  he  said, 

"  I  have  dropped  my  whip,  what  shall  I  do  ? " 

"  Dismount  and  pick  it  up,"  replied  Anna. 

"  But  I  cannot,"  he  replied,  "I  am  afraid  I  could 
not  mount  again  without  the  groom  to  help  me." 


BUCCANEER  'DAYS.  19 

"  Very  well,  then  I  will  get  it,"  so  down  she 
sprang,  passed  up  the  whip  to  Cecil,  and  bounding 
into  her  saddle  again  was  off  at  a  canter  before 
the  boy  could  say  a  word. 

"  Come  along,  Cecil,"  she  cried,  looking  back> 
"  come  along,  this  is  the  finest  stretch  of  ground 
in  the  country  for  a  race." 


CHAPTER  III. 

No — that  hallowed  form  is  ne'er  forgot 

Which  first  love  traced; 
Still  it  lingering  haunts  the  greenest  spot 
On  memory's  waste. 
'Twas  odor  fled 
As  soon  as  shed: 
'Twas  morning's  winged  dream  ; 
'Twas  a  light  that  ne'er  can  shine  again 

On  life's  dull  stream : 
Oh !  'twas  light  that  ne'er  can  shine  again 
On  life's  dull  stream. 

_*r¥"  Strickland  and  his  pupil  had  been  fairly 
ensconced,  and  for  some  time  past  settled 
in  the  pretty,  sunny  rooms  in  the  south 
wing  of  the  manor  house.  All  the  win 
dows  of  the  lower  suite  opened  to  the  ground,  and 
overlooked  and  led  into  a  Dutch  flower  garden? 
which,  in  accordance  with  its  name,  was  laid  out 
in  formal  walks  with  high  box  borders  on  each  side, 
and  stiffly-shaped  flower  beds  of  poppies,  and  tu 
lips,  and  marigolds,  and  clusters  of  monkshood,  and 
the  tall  white  lilies  of  France,  edged  round  with 
thyme  and  sweet  bazil.  -In  the  soft  green  turf, 
were  planted  evergreen  trees,  which  were  cut  and 
clipped  into  fantastic  shapes  of  peacocks,  and  pyr 
amids,  and  cubes,  and  swans,  and  other  devices. 
Here  and  there  were  clumps  of  holly  and  yew, 
from  the  midst  of  which  some  fawn  or  dryad, 
some  Hebe  or  Flora,  in  Italian  marble,  had  long 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  21 

kept  watch.  Then  there  were  the  old  cedars  of 
Lebanon,  with  seats  encircling  their  great  trunks, 
the  ends  of  their  long  branches  lying  on  the  grass, 
offering  beneath  them,  rest  and  shade  at  any  hour 
of  the  day.  The  western  side  of  the  garden  ter 
minated  in  what  was  known  as  Lady  Dorothy's 
walk.  A  straight,  long,  gravel  walk,  bordered  on 
either  side  by  a  few  feet  of  soft  turf,  and  an  ave 
nue  of  yew  trees  two  centuries  old.  The  small 
closely-growing  foliage  of  these  trees  was  so  dense 
that  it  formed  a  perpetual  green  wall,  effectually 
shutting  out  all  the  world,  with  the  exception  of 
the  sun  at  noonday,  and  the  stars  and  moon  at 
night.  At  the  head  of  the  walk  was  a  sundial, 
and  at  the  further  end  a  fountain.  Not  a  great, 
noisy,  conspicuous  construction,  suggestive  of  the 
rush  and  turmoil  of  life,  drowning  in  its  splash  all 
the  sweet  sounds  of  bird  and  bee,  and  the  marvel 
ous  music  of  nature,  but  a  pure,  gentle,  dainty 
little  fountain,  the  sound  of  whose  crystal  drops,  so 
full  of  soothing  and  tenderness,  fell  upon  the  ear 
like  the  voice  of  the  one  we  love.  Near  the  foun 
tain  was  a  rustic  seat  from  which  one  might  look 
across  the  park  with  its  forest  trees,  its  green  un 
dulations,  and  its  lake,  and  still  further  away  west 
ward  to  the  purple  Welsh  mountains.  In  every 
way  this  was  a  beautiful  garden,  a  place  to  dream 
of,  and  live,  and  love,  and  die  in. 

Springtime  had  come,  and  Cecil  and  his  tutor 
were  sitting  in  their  study,  looking  out  at  the  lin 
nets  flitting  about  the  garden,  and  at  the  prim 
roses  and  blue  violets  which  grew  in  front  of  the 


22  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

windows.  The  lessons  of  the  day  were  over,  and 
the  Doctor  was  pursuing  his  favorite  amusement, 
namely,  drawing  mathematical  deductions,  and 
coming  to  logical  conclusions  upon  all  matters. 
Although  he  was  a  ripe  scholar,  he  would  frequent 
ly  forget  himself,  and  break  out  in  his  strong  Scotch 
accent;  but  that  signified  nothing,  as  Cecil  perfectly 
understood  his  speech,  and  the  family  all  liked  him, 
for  they  knew  he  was  a  good  man  and  greatly  inter 
ested  in  the  well-doing  of  his  pupil. 

"  Ye  had  a  lang  walk  wi'  your  cousin  this  morn 
ing,  "  said  the  Doctor.  "  I  hope  ye  understand  her 
better  than  ye  did." 

"I  am  not  sure  that  I  do,"  answered  Cecil.  "I 
don't  see  why  she  moves  so  quickly  and  is  always 
well ;  I  don't  like  people  who  are  always  well,  they 
cannot  feel  for  others." 

"  Ye  should  no  say  that,  Cecil,  when,  ye  look  at 
your  aunt;  she's  no  invalid,  but  she  gi'es  up  her  life 
for  the  sak'  o'  others.  Did  ye  ken  that  these  verra 
rooms  are  the  anes  she  likes  most,  the  anes  she 
lived  in  till  we  came,  and  she  gave  them  up  that 
ye  might  enjoy  the  best  she  had  to  offer  ?" 

"  O  yes,  I  know  that,"  said  Cecil.  "  My  aunt  is 
very  kind,  but  I  was  not  thinking  of  her  when  I 
spoke,  I  was  thinking  of  Cousin  Anna  ;  she  runs 
so  fast  and  when  she  is  not  singing,  she  is  laugh 
ing,  and  I  don't  believe  she  has  any  nerves,  for  the 
other  day  my  pony  got  a  stone  in  his  shoe,  and  she 
was  off  hers  in  a  moment,  seized  my  pony's  fetlock 
and  snatching  up  something  in  the  road,  knocked 
out  the  stone  and  mounted  in  less  time  than  I  have 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  23 

taken  to  tell  you.  Now  none  of  the  young  ladies 
in  India  would  take  a  pony's  fetlock  in  their  hand* 
so  I  think  Cousin  Anna  cannot  possess  nerves." 

"  In  one  respect  ye  are  right,"  said  the  Doctor, 
"  Such  a  young  leddie  as  ony  o'  those  we  used  to 
see  in  India,  would  ride  on  and  leave  ye,  and  when 
she  got  home,  she  would  tell  one  of  the  servants 
to  tell  some  one  of  the  other  servants  to  see  aboot 
it,  and  when  they  had  passed  the  order  through 
half  a  dozen,  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  perhaps 
one  of  them  would  be  with  you,  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  she  would  be  lying  on  the  sofa,  with  Shastri 
standing  by,  fanning  her  out  of  her  nervous  shock." 

"  But  think  of  the  first  day  I  rode  with  my 
cousin,  she  surprised  me  so  when  she  picked  up 
my  whip,  I  thought  then  she  bad  no  nerves." 

"  Admitting  such  a  statement  to  be  true,"  re 
plied  the  Doctor,  "  which  we  are  by  nae  means 
sure  of,  for  the  truth  has  no  been  logically  proved, 
I  say,  admitting  that  it  be  true,  is  it  no'  a  gude 
thing  for  ye  that  your  cousin  has  nae  nerrves,  if  ye 
are  to  gang  aboot  drapping  things  that  ye  dar'  na 
pick  up  again.  In  the  sense  that  ye  appear  to  desire 
your  cousin  to  hae  nerrves,  I  dinna  ken  mysel'  what 
use  they  wad  be  to  a  young  leddie  wi  a  speerit  such 
as  she  has.  I  wad  no'  wish  to  see  a  lassie  o'  her 
years  hae  nerrves ;  na,  na,  she  wad  no  hae  ony  use 
for  them  ;  Providence  kens  what  is  guide  for  us  a', 
and  will  send  her  the  nerrves  when  she  is  fit  to 
manage  them." 

"  Still  I  don't  see,"  said  Cecil,  "  why  she  is  not 
frightened  sometimes.  Perhaps  she  may  be,  but 


24  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

if  so  she  will  never  say  so  ;    I  don't  think  a  girl 
ought  to  be  so  fearless." 

"  Perhaps  ye  dinna  ken  that  young  leddies  o' 
her  rank  in  England  are  all  educated  in  that  way. 
The  English  hae  this  proverb  amang  them.  %A  well 
born  woman  is  ever  brave.'  Your  cousin  inherits 
her  courage  a  long  way  back,  she  is  no  mongrel 
born  ;  I  wish  ye  to  see  for  yourself,  Cecil,  that  it  is 
a  gude  thing  to  be  brave.  There  are  mony  ways 
o'  showing  it  beside  being  a  soldier  or  a  sailor.' 
And  then  the  Doctor  dropped  his  Scotch  accent 
and  spoke  slowly,  "  We  ought  to  be  brave  enough 
to  do  our  duty  to  others,"  said  he.  "  And  now  I 
will  give  you  six  reasons  for  being  brave  for  the 
sake  of  those  we  love.  Firstly,  brave  that  we  may 
inspire  them  with  courage  when  their  hearts  are 
weary.  Secondly,  brave  that  we  may  be  patient 
and  gentle  when  their  nerves  demand  rest.  Thirdly 
brave  that  we  may  be  kind  and  diligent  and 
loving  when  they  are  sick.  Fourthly,  brave  that 
we  may  not  be  morbid  and  gloomy  and  thus  de 
press  them.  Fifthly,  brave  that  we  may  be  faith 
ful  and  true  in  all  things.  Sixthly,  brave  that  we 
may  endure  without  murmuring  to  the  end." 

Long  after  the  Doctor  had  left  the  room,  Cecil 
was  still  there,  leaning  his  head  against  the  side  of 
the  window  and  thinking  over  this  conversation. 
He  possessed  a  generous  disposition,  and  could  not 
bear  the  idea  of  having  misjudged  his  cousin.  But 
he  was  of  a  sensitive  temperament  and  not  having 
a  robust  constitution,  the  girl's  gaiety  of  spirit  and 
great  vital  energy  fatigued  him.  The  cousins  con- 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  25 

tinued  their  amusements  and  their  studies  steadily 
together  for  the  next-  two  years,  and  although 
Cecil  still  called  Anna  as  wild  as  a  hawk,  yet  he 
never  got  into  any  serious  difficulty,  but  he 
applied  to  her  to  help  him  out  of  it,  whether  it  was 
in  solving  a  problem  or  otherwise ;  carrying  out 
Dr.  Strickland's  teaching  he  appeared  to  feel  that 
his  strength  lay  with  her  and  she  in  her  turn  was 
rejoiced  to  help  him. 

There  are  natures  which  seem  made  to  help 
others,  they  find  their  greatest  happiness  in  it ;  and 
so  it  was  with  Anna,  the  more  he  needed  her  help 
the  more  she  delighted  in  giving  it.  Cecil's  health 
was  greatly  improved  by  the  climate  of  England, 
and  with  stronger  health  came  stronger  nerves. 
He  now  no  longer  thought  his  cousin  without  them, 
but  he  thought  she  knew  how  to  control  them  ;  in 
fact,  they  had  grown  to  love  each  other  with  that 
certain  kind  of  cousinly  affection  which  one  often 
sees,  and  \\jhich  is  very  true  and  lifelong,  but  has 
not  the  rapture,  the  intensity,  nor  the  anguish, 
which  belong  to  really  falling  in  love. 

It  was  a  day  in  sweet  summer  time,  all  roses 
and  beauty,  when  the  young  people  met  as  usual 
in  Lady  Dorothy's  walk;  it  was  their  favorite  place, 
and  here  they  would  ramble  up  and  down,  and  sit 
by  the  fountain,  and  talk,  and  paint,  and  read  for 
hours  together ;  and  the  next  day  it  was  the  same 
thing,  and  the  next,  and  the  next,  for  they  never 
grew  tired  of  the  place,  or  of  each  other.  They 
were  now  pacing  the  long  walk,  and  although  they 


26  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

were  past  the  age  of  eighteen,  they  still  continued 
their  studies,  but  were  permitted  to  select  them. 

"  What  a  pleasant  thing  it  is,  Cecil,  to  follow  out 
one's  own  life  and  study  what  we  wish,"  said 
Anna.  "  I  am  so  glad  to  be  free,  no  more  con 
struing  sentences,  no  more  conjugating  verbs,  no 
more  solving  problems ;  I  always  hated  all  of  that 
dry  stuff." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do,  then,"  inquired 
Cecil. 

"Firstly,  I  shall  spend  more  time  with  my 
mother,  more  time  in  the  study  of  my  music,  and 
read  all  the  poetry  I  wish  to,  and  ride  on  horse 
back,  and  dance,  and,  of  course,  help  my  mother 
more  in  taking  care  of  the  peasantry." 

"  Now,  Cecil,  what  shall  you  do  ?  " 

"  Firstly,  I  think  I  shall  paint,  and  rove  about 
amgng  this  beautiful  scenery,"  he  replied.  "I 
shall  paint  until  I  feel  sure  that  I  shall  take  the 
first  prize  in  the  grand  exhibition  ;  I  will  not  ex 
hibit  one  stroke  of  my  brush  until  then." 

"Well  done,  Cecil,"  said  Anna,  "that  is  the 
spirit  I  like." 

For  she  knew  as  she  looked  at  him,  that  he 
possessed  a  wealth  which  no  money  can  buy,  a 
soul  full  of  poetry,  a  mind  full  of  genius,  the  ele 
ments  of  true  greatness  in  any  art,  and  the  only 
wealth  that  she  valued. 

And  Cecil  went  on  with  his  painting,  and  pro 
gressed,  and  brought  more  depth  of  tone  and 
beauty  into  his  pictures  with  every  fresh  attempt, 
till  the  canvas  seemed  to  live  under  his  hand,  and 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  27 

his  poetic  soul  and  gentle  nature  spoke  through 
his  art.  When  any  difficulty  presented  itself,  he 
would  always  seek  Anna  and  have  her  near 
him,  not  that  she  was  an  artist,  but  from  some 
cause  he  could  paint  his  best  when  she  was  by; 
indeed  they  were  together  the  greater  part  of  the 
time,  for  if  they  began  the  day  in  their  different 
parts  of  the  house,  by  some  chance  they  either 
found  each  other  in  the  library,  or  Lady  Dorothy's 
walk,  long  before  noon.  They  drifted  to  the  same 
place,  they  scarely  knew  how,  but  they  began  to 
know  that  the  presence  of  each  one  to  the  other, 
was  equally  essential  to  their  happiness.  Cecil 
was  a  poet,  not  a  writer  of  rhymes  or  jingles,  but 
as  we  have  said  a  true  poet  in  his  soul.  Anna  felt 
this  in  all  her  intercourse  with  him  and  heard  it  in 
the  tones  of  his  voice  when  he  spoke,  a  voice  that 
had  a  ring  in  it,  a  resonance,  and  that  exquisite 
power  of  modulation  which  says  more  than  the 
words  themselves.  And  so  time  went  swiftly  and 
sweetly  by  with  their  walks  and  rides,  and  occupa 
tions,  until  they  were  twenty  years  old.  Anna 
happy  in  the  possession  of  Cecil's  love,  with  life  as 
she  wished  it,  pure,  joyous  life,  with  music  and 
beauty  everywhere.  A  song  ever  on  her  lips,  the 
happiest,  merriest  maiden  in  all  "  Merrie  England." 
Cecil  in  his  gentle  way,  deriving  extreme  pleas 
ure  from  the  study  and  exercise  of  his  art,  and 
Anna's  companionship.  For  the  cousinly  affec 
tion  of  two  years  ago,  had  in  both  of  them  merged 
into  deep  intense  love,  which  ended  only  with 
their  lives. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

And  those  were  sudden  partings  such  as  press 
The  life  from  out  young  hearts. 

O  who  wad  wear  a  silken  gown 

Wi'  a  poor  broken  heart, 
And  what  's  to  me  a  siller  crown 

If  from  my  love  I  part. 


Alone,  alone,  all,  all  alone, 

Alone  on  a  wide,  wide  sea ! 
And  never  a  saint  took  pity  on 

My  soul  in  agony. 

|T  was  springtime  again,  and  the  snowdrops 
were  nodding  their  dainty,  little  white 
heads,  and  the  linnets  were  again  building 
their»nests  in  the  sweet  old  garden,  when 
Anna's  mother  summoned  her  from  Cecil's  side  in 
Lady  Dorothy's  walk,  to  the  oak-paneled  drawing- 
room. 

"  My  daughter,"  she  began,  "  I  regret  that  I  must 
interrupt  your  present  happiness,  but  circumstances 
compel  me  to  separate  you  and  Cecil  for  the 
present.  It  is  time  that  you  were  presented  at  court, 
and  it  is  time  that  you  passed  a  season  in  London. 
We  have  hitherto  lead  so  secluded  a  life  that  your 
name  is  not  known  beyond  the  limits  of  our  county, 
and  I  feel  I  am  not  doing  my  duty  by  you." 

"  But  we  are  all  very  happy,  mother,"  said  Anna. 
"  Why  need  we  be  more  known  ?  " 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  29 

"  Yes,  my  daughter,  we  are  happy  now  but 
changes  must  come  to  all  sometime.  I  may  be 
called  away  from  you." 

"  O  my  dearest  mother  do  not  say  that,  I  cannot, 
I  dare  not  think  of  what  life  would  be  without  you  ; 
you  know  I  will  do  anything  you  wish,  or  give  up 
everything  else  in  life,  but  I  cannot  give  you  up;  it 
would  break  my  heart,  I  should  die,"  cried  Anna. 

"  Broken  hearts  don't  die,  my  daughter,  would  to 
God  that  they  did  ;  few,  very  few  die  of  broken 
hearts,  but  many  live  with  them.  I  have  carefully 
considered  what  is  my  duty  toward  you,  and  my 
reason  and  affection  coincide ;  now  listen,  in  case  I 
am  called  away  by  death,  there  is  Cecil  to  whose 
care  and  protection  I  could  resign  you,  for  I  knew 
you  loved  each  other  long  before  you  knew  it  your 
selves  ;  I  am  happy  that  it  is  so,  but  if  Cecil  were 
taken  away  also,  there  would  be  no  very  near  rela 
tives  to  care  for  you,  for  the  nearest  members  of 
your  father's  family  are  in  India,  and  mine  in  the 
colony  of  Virginia,  and  as  you  will  inherit  the 
landed  estates  of  your  late  grandfather  as  well  as 
mine,  it  would  be  better  that  you  should  make 
trustworthy  friends  before  I  leave  you,  I  see  this 
pains  you,  dear  daughter,  I  shall  say  no  more  on 
this  subject.  In  three  days  we  shall  set  out  for 
London  as  the  season  has  already  begun,  and  we 
shall  require  some  time  to  get  our  court  dresses 
made." 

The  last  evening  at  the  manor  house  was  passed 
by  Anna  and  Cecil  under  the  light  of  the  stars,  in 
Lady  Dorothy's  walk.  The  next  morning  saw  the 


30  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

large,  old  yellow  family  coach  at  the  door,  drawn  by 
four  strong,  heavy  horses,  a  coachman  and  groom 
on  the  box,  a  maid  and  a  butler  in  the  rumble,  and 
the  widow  and  her  daughter  inside.  Cecil  who  was 
standing  by  one  of  the  coach  windows  looking  very 
pale  and  -thoughtful,  tried  to  put  on  a  smile  as  he 
said, 

"  We  are  to  look  for  you  both  back  again  in  the 
early  autumn,  you  said,  aunt." 

"  Yes,  Cecil,  as  soon  as  the  first  brown  leaves 
fall." 

The  young  people  looked  good  by  to  each  other, 
but  said  not  a  word,  and  the  heavy  old  coach 
moved  away.  In  three  days  more  the  travelers 
were  in  London,  and  in  due  course  Anna  was  pre: 
sented  at  court  by  her  mother,  who  had  herself  been 
presented  on  the  occasion  of  her  marriage.  Then 
came  calls  and  cards  and  invitations  to  balls  and 
routs  and  state  dinners,  and  the  poor  tired  mother 
went  through  all  these  ceremonies  as  a  duty 
toward  her  daughter,  and  the  daughter  endured  it 
because  she  loved  her  mother,  and  desired  to  obey 
her  wish.  It  was  necessary  that  a  young  heiress 
of  her  rank  should  be  dressed  in  accordance  with 
the  fashion  of  the  day,  but  the  young  heiress 
longed  to  be  released  from  the  thraldom  of  fashion, 
the  fatiguing,  heavy  brocade  dresses,  the  hoops,  the 
stiff  ruff  and  the  stomacher,  the  farthingale  and  high 
heeled  shoes,  and  a  thousand  times  more  than  all, 
did  she  desire  to  be  released  from  the  artificial  and 
to  her  unsatisfactory  life,  from  the  flattery,  the 
coquetry,  the  idle,  envious  tattle,  and  to  be  back 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  31 

again  with  Cecil,  in  her  simple,  healthy  attire,  and 
to  live  among  honest  hearts. 

The  autumn  came,  and  the  dry  brown  leaves 
began  to  fall  from  the  trees.  Day  after  day,  Cecil 
opened  the  harpsichord,  and  laid  a  bouquet  of  the 
rich  deep-hued  flowers  of  the  season  upon  it,  and 
then  he  took  his  place  by  the  fountain,  and  watched 
the  winding  road  through  the  park,  so  that  he 
might  get  the  first  sight  of  the  coach  when  it  re 
turned.  The  autumn  leaves  continued  to  fall,  and 
Cecil  kept  his  daily  vigil  until  they  were  lying 
deep  on  the  ground,  and  the  branches  overhead 
were  bare.  Then  came  a  letter  saying  that  Cecil's- 
aunt  was  ordered  by  her  doctor  to  pass  the  winter 
in  Italy,  in  the  hope  of  curing  a  cough,  which  had 
of  late  settled  upon  her,  so  that  it  would  be  spring 
before  the  ladies  could  return  to  the  manor  house, 
hence  they  traveled  to  Italy  and  spent  the  winter 
among  its  masterpieces  of  genius,  both  in  music 
and  art.  The  soft  air  seemed  all  that  was  wanted 
to  restore  Anna's  mother  to  health.  Every  day, 
they  found  something  beautiful  that  they  desired 
Cecil  to  see,  but  it  was  too  late  now  to  send  for 
him,  for  spring  was  near.  With  the  spring,  came 
back  the  cough,  and  again  the  medical  order  was 
change  of  climate.  This  time,  a  sojourn  of  some 
months  in  Norway  was  prescribed  for  Mrs.  Vyvyan, 
bracing  air,  and  much  out-door  life  in  the  pine 
woods.  After  many  weeks  of  slow  journeying,  the 
ladies  with  two  of  their  servants  reached  Norway, 
and  took  up  their  abode  in  an  old  chateau,  in  the 
midst  of  a  pine  forest  so-called,  but  a  forest  really 


32  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

composed  of  many  varieties  of  fir  and  spruce,  as 
well  as  pine.  The  combined  aroma  of  these  woods 
made  the  air  fragrant  for  many  acres  around  the 
chateau,  and  for  a  time,  it  appeared  to  have  the 
most  beneficial  effect  upon  the  invalid.  But  one 
quiet  eve,  when  the  summer  days  had  waned,  and 
the  faded  leaves  of  another  autumn  fell,  a  pang  of 
anguish  shot  through  Anna's  heart.  The  dearly 
loved  mother  was  called  away. 

A  short  time  only  had  elapsed  since  that  event, 
and  the  servants  were  packing,  and  making  prepa 
rations  for  the  return  to  the  manor  house,  when  a 
mounted  courier  arrived  at  the  chateau,  with  a 
large  package  of  papers  addressed  in  Dr.  Strick 
land's  handwriting.  Very  long,  and  full  of  feeling, 
and  minute  in  every  detail,  was  the  letter  the  good 
man  had  written,  if  letter  so  long  a  dispatch  might 
be  called.  He  told  of  Cecil's  conversations,  of  his 
watchings  from  beside  the  fountain  ;  how  every 
day  he  picked  flowers,  and  put  them  on  the  harp 
sichord,  saying  this  is  the  place  she  loves  best ;  and 
how  he  faded  and  wasted  day  by  day,  yet  struggled 
so  bravely  against  the  hand  of  death,  that  he 
plight  finish  his  last  and  best  picture  for  Anna  ; 
and  how  on  the  last  day  of  his  life,  he  had  laid  his 
flowers  on  the  harpsichord  as  usual,  and  then  de 
sired  to  be  carried  to  the  library  and  lifted  into  their 
great-grandfather's  chair  to  die, — the  chair  that 
Anna  had  placed  for  him  the  first  time  they  met. 

When  Anna  had  finished  reading  the  final  words 
of  Dr.  Strickland's  letter,  she  rose  and  moved 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  33 

quietly  into  the  recess  of  one  of  the  large,  heavily 
mullioned  windows,  and  looked  down  a  long  vista 
into  the  forest,  to  the  tall  dark  pines  under  which 
was  her  mother's  grave.  Every  vestige  of  color 
had  left  both  cheek  and  lip,  and  she  stood  in  the 
great  somber  room,  as  cold  and  white  and  as  still  as 
the  statues  which  adorned  its  walls.  The  extremes 
of  grief  and  joy  have  no  speech  ;  she  had  none. 
No  cry  of  lamentation  went  forth  ;  no  tears  of 
relief  fell  from  her  eyes  ;  she  knew  her  life  was 
ended,  but  she  also  knew  that  she  could  not  die. 
Three  words  only  escaped  her  lips.  "O  God, 
alone." 


CHAPTER  V. 

/ 

Has  hope  like  the  bird  in  the  story. 

That  flitted  from  tree  to  tree 
With  the  talisman's  glittering  glory 

Has  hope  been  that  bird  to  thee  ? 

On  branch  after  branch  alighting, 

The  gem  did  she  still  display, 
And  when  nearest  and  most  inviting, 

Then  waft  the  fair  gem  away  ? 

>MONG  the  papers  of  the  late  mistress  of 
the  manor  house,  were  found  two  letters 
which  from  their  dates  showed  that  they 
had  been  written  during  her  stay  in  Italy. 
One  was  addressed  to  Sir  Thomas  Richardson, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  the  other  to  her 
daughter.  She  appeared  to  have  had  a  foreshad 
owing  of  her  death,  and  directed  Anna,  in  case  of 
such  an  event,  to  have  Sir  Thomas'  letter  delivered 
to  him  immediately,  and  to  abide  by  whatever 
decision  he  might  come  to.  Anna  had  never  seen 
Sir  Thomas,  but  she  knew  that  he  was  in  some  way 
related  to  her  on  her  mother's  side  of  the  family, 
and  that  he  was  an  old  gentleman,  who  lived  among 
his  books,  in  an  old-fashioned  country  house  in 
one  of  the  midland  counties  of  England,  with  no 
one  but  his  servants  about  him.  And  when  the 
decision  came,  which  informed  Miss  Vyvyan  that 
she  too  was  to  live  there,  as  his  ward,  she  was 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  35 

thankful,  for  the  tie  of  kindred  was  strong  in  her 
nature,  and  she  thought  to  herself,  there  is  still  a 
link,  that  connects  with  the  memory  of  my  loved 
mother.  Besides  he  is  old  and  alone,  perhaps  I 
may  be  able  to  do  something  to  make  his  life  less 
lonely.  But  what  could  she  do,  she  asked  herself, 
for  to  her  all  seemed  vague  and  undefined. 

Arriving  at  the  quiet  old  home  of  Sir  Thomas, 
with  its  smooth  green  lawn  and  flat  meadows 
around  and  in  front  of  the  house,  she  was  shown 
into  the  presence  of  a  tall,  stately,  white-haired, 
old  gentleman  to  whom  nature  had  indeed  been 
gracious,  for  he  was  extremely  handsome,  and  of 
courtly  manners.  He  greeted  her  kindly  but  with 
much  dignity,  and  addressed  her  throughout  the 
conversation  as  Miss  Vyvyan.  A  shudder  swept 
through  her  frame  each  time  she  heard  herself  so 
called,  by  the  only  one  left  who  had  the  right  to 
address  her  by  her  own  familiar  name  of  Anna, 
which  she  had  hoped  he  would  do.  But  although 
desiring  to  be  in  every  way  kind  to  his  ward,  his 
ideas  of  dignity  and  courtesy  were  fixed,  and  to 
him  she  was  always  Miss  Vyvyan.  Thus  without 
a  thought  of  causing  her  pain,  he  ever  brought 
before  her  the  deepest  sense  of  her  bereavement 
and  her  isolation.  Life  in  Sir  Thomas'  home  was 
very  different  from  life  at  the  manor  house,  both 
in  doors  and  out.  The  old  gentleman  passed  most 
of  his  time  in  his  library,  and  Anna  rarely  saw  him 
until  evening,  when  he  would  sometimes  instruct 
her  in  playing  chess.  When  she  went  outside 
of  the  house,  all  seemed  strange  and  dull  and 


36  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

dreary,  plain  grass  lawns  all  around,  not  a  flower 
bed  to  be  seen,  no  long  garden  walk,  no  fountain, 
no  hills  to  ramble  over,  no  purple  mountains  in 
the  distance,  but  a  flat  level  country  on  all  sides. 
And  when  she  came  in  doors  again,  no  loved 
mother,  no  Cecil  to  greet  her. 

Nearly  three  years  had  gone  by  since  Anna's 
arrival  as  Sir  Thomas'  ward.  It  was  evening,  and 
they  had  just  finished  their  game  of  chess,  when 
he  for  the  first  time  addressed  her  as  my  dear 
young  lady,  and  after  a  short  pause  proceeded. 

"  This  is  not  a  fit  place  for  you  ;  I  am  too  old  to 
be  the  companion  of  youth;  I  am  doing  you  injus 
tice  in  allowing  you  to  remain  with  me,  and  have 
decided  that  you  shall  have  a  more  suitable  home." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  leave  you,  Sir  Thomas," 
replied  Anna,  "besides  I  have  nowhere  to  go.  I 
cannot  live  at  the  manor  house  all  alone." 

"  Certainly  you  cannot,"  he  answered.  "  I  have 
arranged  everything  for  you  to  the  best  of  my 
power.  You  do  not  really  come  into  property  until 
you  are  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Your  landed 
estates  and  other  moneys  are  secured  to  you  in 
such  a  way  that  you  need  not  feel  the  least  appre 
hension  about  your  affairs,  everything  has  been  at 
tended  to.  The  manor  house  will  be  in  the  charge 
of  a  steward  for  the  present.  You  will  probably 
wish  to  live  there  again  some  day.  As  I  have  just 
said,  I  am  too  old  ;  I  may  not,  I  cannot  have  long 
to  remain  here.  There  is  a  cousin  of  your  moth 
er  living  in  the  colony  of  Virginia,  Fairfax  by 
name.  He  has  a  wife  and  family,  two  nephews, 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  37 

whom  he  has  adopted,  twins,  I  think,  also  Fairfaxes. 
They  stand  in  the  degree  of  a  third  generation 
from  myself.  I  mean  to  say  these  twins  are  about 
the  same  age  my  grandson  would  be  now,  had  he 
been  spared  to  my  declining  years.  Therefore, 
they  must  be  a  few  years  older  than  you  are,  and 
more  adapted  for  being  companionable  to  you, 
than  I  am.  I  have  been  in  correspondence  with 
your  Cousin  Fairfax,  during  many  months,  in 
regard  to  your  making  your  home  with  them  in 
Virginia,  until  you  are  older,  and  have  ceased  so 
much  to  need  protection,  or  until  you  have  settled 
in  a  home  of  your  own.  The  arrangement  appears 
to  be  very  agreeable  to  them,  and  I  trust  you  will 
be  happy  in  their  society.  I  cannot  part  with  you 
without  saying  that  your  presence  in  my  house 
has  given  me  much  pleasure — the  only  one  now  left 
to  me,  that  of  recollection.  Although  you  are  very 
quiet,  for  one  who  has  only  reached  your  years,  yet 
the  sound  of  your  footstep  about  the  house  called 
sweet  though  sad  memories  of  my  only  daughter, 
and  I  thank  you  for  them.  If  I  thought  only  of 
myself,  I  should  keep  you  here  till  the  end,  but 
there  are  times  when  it  is  more  noble  to  resign 
than  to  fulfill  the  dearest  wishes  of  our  heart." 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  1607  that  Miss  Vyvyan, 
attended  by  her  waiting  woman,  sailed  from  Eng 
land,  for  the  colony  of  Virginia,  in  the  ship  Queen 
Elizabeth,  from  which  she  had  just  been  wrecked, 
when  we  took  up  the  narrative  of  her  early  life. 
To  that  period  of  time  we  will  now  return. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

This  is  the    forest    primeval.     The    murmuring    pines    and  the 

hemlocks, 
Bearded  with  moss,  and    in  garments  green,   indistinct   in    the 

twilight. 

Stand  like  Druids  of  eld,  with  voices  sad  and  prophetic. 
Stand  like  harpers  hoar  with  beards  that  rest  on  their  bosoms. 
Loud  from  its  rocky  caverns  the  deep-voiced  neighboring  ocean, 
Speaks  and  in  accents  disconsolate  answers  the  wail  of  the  forest. 


And  thou  too  who  so  'ere  thou  art 

That  readest  this  brief  psalm 
As  one  by  one  thy  hopes  depart 

Be  resolute  and  calm. 

Oh  fear  not  in  a  world  like  this, 

And  thou  shalt  know  ere  long, 
Know  how  sublime  a  thing  it  is 

To  suffer  and  be  strong.          • 

the  shipwrecked  young  lady  lay  on  the 
cold,  rough  beach,  amid  the  dead  bodies, 
with  the  hoarse  roar  of  the  ocean  sound 
ing  in  her  ears,  and  the  heavy,  wet  clouds 
of  mist  clinging  about  her,  indifferent  to  life  or 
death,  the  recollection  of  the  ship  being  pursued 
by  buccaneers  and  driven  far  out  of  her  course 
came  back  to  her  mind,  and  then  being  caught  in 
a  hurricane  and  seeing  another  vessel  battling  with 
the  tempest,  and  both  ships  furiously  hurried  on 
toward  a  wild,  rocky  coast,  the  vessels  crashing  on 
shore  and  rebounding  again,  and  some  one  lifting 


BUCCANEER  DAYS  39 

her  into  a  boat,  and  then  she  remembered  no  more. 
While  these  recollections  were  passing  through 
her  brain,  she  raised  herself  upon  her  elbow  and 
looked  around.  Death  everywhere,  the  ocean  with 
its  floating  corpses  and  wreckage  lay  before  her. 
On  either  hand  a  long  broken  beach,  with  its 
gloomy  rocks  and  its  scattered  dead.  A  scene 
which  at  any  other  time  in  her  life  would  have 
struck  her  with  awe,  she  now  gazed  at  quietly,  and 
questioned  "  Why  am  I  the  only  one  left,  oh,  if  I 
too  could  die."  Turning  to  look  behind  her 
through  the  mist,  she  observed  that  the  land  was 
hilly,  and  in  some  places  rose  to  a  considerable 
height.  The  whole  surface  as  far  as  she  could 
make  out  was  covered  by  a  thick  growth  of  lofty 
pines,  mingled  with  spruce  and  other  sorts  of  fir, 
among  which  sprung  up  an  entanglement  of  various 
kinds  of  undergrowth,  all  these  trees  and  shrubs 
growing  nearly  down  to  the  sea  and  forming  so 
thick  a  forest,  that  it  was  impossible  for  sight  to 
penetrate  it  further  than  a  few  yards.  There  was 
no  building  of  any  kind  to  be  seen,  no  sign  of 
human  habitation  of  either  savage  or  civilized  life. 
The  great  abundance  of  pine  trees,  and  the  general 
appearance  of  the  forest,  which  strongly  resembled 
the  forests  of  Norway,  instantly  called  up  the  ques 
tion  in  Anna  Vyvyan's  mind,  can  it  be  possible 
that  destiny  has  sent  me  back  to  the  land  of  my 
mother's  grave  ? 

A  low  wail  like  the  cry  of  a  young  child  in 
distress,  caused  the  only  hearer  to  start  to  her 
feet,  and  looking  on  the  other  side  of  a  broken 


40  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

rock  close  by,  she  saw  stretched  out  white 
and  still,  a  young  lady  by  the  side  of  whom,  in  a 
half-standing  position,  and  bending  over  her  was  a 
beautiful  golden-haired  little  girl  of  between  two 
and  three  years.  In  another  instant  Anna  was 
also  bending  over  the  young  mother,  to  whom  she 
found  the  child  was  tied  by  a  crimson  silk  sash 
such  as  were  worn  by  military  officers.  The  tear 
ful  little  one  turned  up  her  sweet  face,  without  any 
apparent  fear,  but  with  a  great  deal  of  sorrow  in 
it,  and  said,  in  her  baby  language, 

"  Mama  dorn  seep,"  then  she  pressed  her  lips 
upon  the  cold  white  cheek,  and  kissed  it  and 
stroked  and  patted  the  also  beautiful  mother,  who 
lay  so  mute  and  pallid  and  unconscious  of  all  her 
little  one's  gentle  love. 

Again  and  again  came  the  cry  from  the  poor 
forlorn  little  creature,  "  Det  up,  mama,  det  up, 
mama ;"  but  the  dear  mamma  was  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  sweet  baby  voice.  Anna's  first  thought 
was  to  see  if  any  sign  of  life  remained  in  the  slen 
der  form  before  her,  but  she  could  find  no  pulse, 
and  the  face  and  hands  were  as  cold,  as  the  rocks 
upon  which  she  was  lying.  Miss  Vyvyan  unfas 
tened  the  child,  and  drew  away  the  long  sash, 
which  had  tied  her  to  her  mother's  waist.  As  she 
did  so,  she  observed  the  delicately  formed  features, 
•which  were  so  regular  and  proportionate  that  they 
might  have  been  chiseled  in  marble,  to  represent 
some  Greek  goddess.  She  saw  the  masses  of  soft 
brown  hair,  and  the  long  dark  eyelashes,  which 
dropped  upon  the  cheek  like  silken  fringe.  She 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  41 

observed,  too,  the  simple  travel  ing  habit,  made  of  the 
finest  material,  but  perfectly  free  from  any  attempt 
at  vulgar  ornament.  And  as. she  took  the  child 
into  her  arms,  and  looked  down  once  more  on  the 
sweet  white  face,  which  lay  on  the  stones  at  her 
feet,  and  noted  the  refinement  in  everything  about 
her,  she  knew  that  the  little  one's  mother  came  of 
gentle  blood.  The  child  was  willing  to  go  to 
Anna,  but  not  willing  to  be  removed  out  of  sight 
of  its  mother.  So  Miss  Vyvyan  sat  down  where 
they  were  with  the  little  one  in  her  lap,  and  shook 
out  the  silk  sash  with  the  idea  of  wrapping  it 
round  the  shivering  child,  but  that,  too,  was  wet, 
every  thing  in  the  shape  of  clothing  was  wet,  both 
on  Anna  and  the  child.  All  that  she  could  do  for 
the  moment  to  comfort  the  tiny  thing,  was  to  fold 
it  in  her  arms,  and  try  by  that  means  to  keep  it 
from  perishing  with  cold.  It  had  probably  been 
shielded  by  some  heavy  woolen  wrap,  which  was 
torn  off  by  the  breakers  when  they  were  cast  on 
shore,  for  as  Anna  shook  out  the  silk  sash,  there 
fell  from  it  a  strip  of  thick  woolen  fringe,  which 
had  the  appearance  of  having  belonged  to  a  shawl. 
But  now  the  child  was  bareheaded,  and  wore  a 
little  white  dress  of  exceedingly  fine  embroidery, 
which  also  spoke  of  the  mother's  love,  for  none 
but  loving  hands  ever  wrought  work  so  dainty  as 
that.  Round  its  neck  was  clasped  a  small  gold 
chain  of  minute  links  of  very  fine  workmanship.  So 
thin  and  delicately  was  it  made,  that  it  resembled  a 
thread  of  golden  silk.  Anna  examined  it  carefully 
to  see  if  she  could  find  any  letter  or  name  upon  it, 


42  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

but  none  was  there,  then  she  spoke  to  the  child  as 
it  lay  nestling  its  pretty  head  upon  her  arm,  and 
still  talking  to  its  rgother,  and  said, 

"  Tell  me,  clear  little  one,  what  is  your  name  ? " 

The  child  looked  up,  but  evidently  could  not 
understand  the  meaning  of  her  words. 

Anna  tried  again  by  laying  one  of  her  fingers  on 
the  child's  shoulder  and  saying,  '•  Who's  dat  ? " 

"  Mama's  baby,"  answered  the  little  one  in  an 
instant. 

"  Will  Mama's  baby  tell  me  where  papa  is  ?  " 

"  Dorn  seep,"  replied  the  child. 

"  Tell  me  where  dorn  seep,  sweet  child." 

"  Down  dare,"  answered  she,  pointing  to  a  mass 
of  human  bodies  which  were  thrown  together  on 
the  beach  some  distance  below  them,  and  which 
were  constantly  kept  in  motion  by  the  incoming 
tide. 

Anna's  desire  to  die  no  longer  existed  ;  as  she 
held  the  beautiful  little  creature  to  her  heart  and 
rocked  it,  all  her  thoughts  concentrated  in  the  one 
question,  what  could  she  do  to  aid  this  sweet  help 
less  one.  The  ideas  rushed  through  her  mind 
with  the  rapidity  that  they  come  to  us  in  fever.  It 
must  have  warmth  and  food,  or  it  will  perish.  I 
cannot  let  it  die,  it  is  so  beautiful,  and  I  love  it.  I 
must  act  this  moment.  Rising  with  the  child  in 
her  arms,  she  hastened  along  as  rapidly  as  she 
could  among  the  wreckage,  scrambling  between 
bales  and  chests  of  all  kinds,  in  the  hope  of  find 
ing  something,  anything;  she  could  not  surmise 
what  it  might  be,  but  some  sustenance  must  be 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  43 

had  for  the  child.  Although  hundreds  of  cases 
and  bales  were  strewed  about,  they  were  all  so  se 
curely  corded  and  nailed  up,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  procure  anything  from  them. 

At  last,  far  in  on  the  land,  she  came  to  a  large 
pile  of  freight,  which  had  struck  so  violently,  that 
the  greater  number  of  the  cases  and  bales,  had 
broken  in  two,  or  had  burst  open.  The  first  object 
that  met  her  sight,  was  a  broken  chest  full  of 
table  covers  of  rich  cloth,  evidently  the  product 
of  India  and  Persia,  as  the  silk  embroidered  bor 
ders  in  oriental  needlework  showed ;  happily  every 
thing  was  thrown  in  so  far  that  it  was  dry. 

Taking  one  of  the  table  covers,  she  wrapped  it 
round  the  child,  who  in  the  midst  of  its  discomfort 
showed  its  gentle  nature  by  saying, 

"  Pitty  sing,  pitty  sing,"  and  holding  up  its  sweet 
face  to  kiss  Anna. 

"  Yes,  mama's  baby  shall  have  more  pretty 
things  soon,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan. 

"Dinner,"  cried  the  child,  "  bing  dinner,  Dinah 
bing  dinner." 

"  Yes,  darling,  we  must  find  dinner  for  mama's 
baby." 

"  Dinah  bing  dinner  ?  "  again  repeated  the  poor, 
hungry  little  thing,  with  an  expressive  look  of 
interrogation. 

"  Yes,  dear,  yes  ;"  folding  the  soft  woolen  cover 
still  more  closely  round  the  child,  Anna  placed  her 
in  a  sheltered  spot.-  "  Stay  there  a  moment,  baby, 
while  I  bring  dinner." 

From  the  marks  on  the  outside   of  the  boxes  it 


44  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

was  plain  that  they  had  come  from  some  Mediter 
ranean  port,  and  contained  fruits  and  other  edibles. 
With  a  heavy  stone,  Anna  soon  broke  open  a  small 
box  of  candied  fruit,  selecting  some,  she  gave  it  to 
the  half-starved  child.  One  of  the  baby  hands 
held  her  fruit,  the  other  one  was  instantly  stretched 
out  toward  the  box, 

"  Mama,  tandy,  too  "  she  cried. 

"  Mama  is  asleep,  darling,  she  does  not  want 
candy," 

"  Oh  mama,  tandy,  too,"  she  repeated,  with  an 
earnestness  that  sent  a  thrill  through  Anna's  heart. 

"  Yes ;  mama's  baby  shall  take  some  if  she  wishes 
to." 

The  child  took  a  piece  of  the  fruit,  "  Doe  now," 
she  said. 

"  Go  where,  baby  ?  " 

"  Mama,"  answered  the  child,  struggling  among 
the  folds  of  her  wrap,  to  get  on  to  her  feet  and 
pointing  in  the  direction  of  its  mother.  A  nature 
so  full  of  love,  shall  not  be  pained  or  thwarted  by 
me,  mused  Anna,  as  she  carried  back  the  child 
who  had  already  become  precious  to  her.  When 
they  reached  the  place  where  the  cold  white  mother 
was  lying,  and  Anna  was  in  the  act  of  putting  the 
little  one  on  the  ground  as  it  desired,  an  unusually 
large  wave  broke  so  close  by,  that  the  spray  and 
foam  dashed  against,  and  flowed  over  the  sweet 
pale  face.  The  child  uttered  a  sharp  cry  of  dis 
tress,  and  disengaging  itself  from  Anna's  arms  and 
darting  to  its  mother,  threw  itself  down  by  her 
side,  and,  clasping  her  neck  with  its  tiny  arms, 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  45 

covered  with  kisses  the  face  that  was  so  dear. 
The  next  wave  will  carry  the  mother  away,  Anna 
thought.  I  cannot  let  the  child  witness  such  a 
sight,  it  would  break  her'  loving  little  heart,  and 
she  also  felt  that  she,  herself,  could  not  give  up  to 
the  all-devouring  ocean,  the  object  of  so  much 
affection  in  the  babe.  Placing  the  little  one  in 
safety,  she  took  up  the  the  cold,  white  burden  in 
her  arms,  and  carried  it  far  back  from  the  reach  of 
the  sea,  putting  it  down  on  the  moss,  at  the  root  of 
a  large  pine.  As  it  lay  there  so  lone  and  sad  and 
beautiful,  with  the  child  standing  by  it,  for  the 
little  soul  had  followed  with  its  swiftest  steps, 
Anna  bent  over  it  and  kissed  the  face.  Poor  dear, 
she  murmured  in  a  whisper,  as  long  as  I  exist,  my 
love  and  my  life  shall  be  devoted  to  your  child. 
She  bent  again  and  kissed  the  cold  lips.  Could  it 
be  possible  that  breath  came  lightly  through  them  ? 
It  was,  —  it  was, —  deeper  and  deeper  drawn  and 
more  regular  each  time.  Merciful  God,  she  lives, 
and  the  tears  fell  fast  from  eyes  that  had  long  been 
dry  with  grief.  A  faint  sigh,  and  the  partial  part 
ing  of  the  long  silken  eyelashes,  told  that  life  was 
coming  back  still  more  and  more.  In  a  few 
moments  she  feebly  uttered,  "My  child." 

"  Your  child  is  safe  and  with  you,"  replied  Anna, 
lifting  the  little  one  closer  to  its  mother's  side. 

"  Dudley,"  she  faltered. 

"  He  has  not  come  yet,"  said  Anna,  surmising 
for  whom  she  was  inquiring,  and  pitying  in  her 
inmost  soul  the  widowed  heart  that  must  so  soon 
learn  to  live  without  him. 


46  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

When  the  poor  mother  opened  her  eyes,  the 
scene  of  horror  was  more  than  her  delicate  organ 
ization  could  endure,  and  a  violent  fit  of  trembling 
came  upon  her. 

"  Tote  on,"  said  the  anxious,  sensitive  child. 

The  suggestion  was  acted  upon,  Anna  ran  to 
the  pile  of  dry  wreckage,  and  soon  returned  with 
an  armful  of  table  covers  and  a  box. 

"  Tote  on  mama,"  cried  the  child  hurriedly,  as  if 
it  felt  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 

"Yes,  darling,  a  coat  for  mama,"  said  Anna,  im 
provising  a  pillow  with  one,  and  wrapping  several 
other  warm  covers  about  the  shivering  mother. 

"Take  this,"  said  she,  holding  to  her. lips  some 
cordial  which  she  had  poured  into  a  mussel  shell, 
"  It  is  buanaba,  a  very  delicate  restorative  made 
in  Turkey,  pray  try  to  take  it,  it  will  keep  you 
from  shivering  so." 

As  we  have  already  said,  Anna  possessed  great 
vital  energy,  and  with  her  to  think  was  to  act. 
She  saw  that  the  delicate,  slender  young  mother 
and  the  child  must  both  die,  unless  she  could  find 
some  means  of  getting  them  warm.  There  was 
an  abundance  of  dead  wood  close  by,  if  she  could 
only  start  the  first  spark  of  fire.  Pushing  her  way 
a  few  yards  into  the  forest,  she  brought  out  a  quan 
tity  of  dead  grass  and  resinous  wood,  and  con 
tinued  striking  two  stones  together  until  at  last 
the  spark  came,  and  a  good  fire  soon  blazed  high, 
and  sent  out  its  glow  toward  the  pine  tree  beneath 
which  they  were  lying.  Some  large  stones  were 
soon  heated  in  the  hot  embers,  and  rolled  to  the 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  47 

feet  of  the  mother.  Covering  was  brought  and 
held  to  the  fire,  and  the  lowly  bed  made  so  warm 
that  the  exhausted  mother  and  her  little  one  fell 
into  a  natural  and  refreshing  sleep.  In  the  mean 
time  Anna  was  everywhere  scrambling  and 
climbing  among  the  freight,  dragging  what  she 
could  not  carry,  searching  for  anything  that 
might  be  appropriated  as  a  covering  against  the 
cold,  and  looking  after  the  cases  of  eatables  with  a 
thought  for  the  poor,  starving  ones  under  the  pine 
tree.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  sleep 
ers  awoke.  The  mist  had  in  a  great  measure 
cleared  away,  and  the  sunlight  was  struggling 
through  the  remaining  clouds.  A  good  fire  was 
burning,  and  a  tin  of  water  was  boiling  beside  it. 
A  long  box  cover,  supported  by  stones  at  each  end, 
formed  a  table,  other  box  lids  made  seats,  and  the 
table  was  spread  with  food  that  would  at  least  sus 
tain  life.  Heaped  up  under  another  pine  tree,  was 
a  sufficient  supply  of  both  food  and  covering,  to 
provide  for  the  ladies  and  child  for  some  time  to 
come.  There  was  no  lack  of  tins  of  all  shapes,  so 
they  were  made  use  of  to  cook  in,  and  for  holding 
food.  As  soon  as  the  child  was  thoroughly  awake, 
it  sat  up  in  its  bed,  showing  its  sweet  fair  face,  and 
smiling  with  happiness  at  finding  its  mother  awake 
by  its  side.  Taking  up  a  cup  of  food  made  from 
sea  moss  and  sweetened  with  the  candied  fruit, 
Anna  attempted  to  feed  the  child  by  means  of  a 
shell,  but  it  turned  its  face  away,  and  said  in  tones 
full  of  distress,  "Mama  too,  Dinah  bing  dinner." 
When  Anna  took  hot  coffee  from  the  fire  and 


48  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

propped  up  the  exhausted  mother  and  induced  her 
to  drink  it,  everything  went  well  with  the  child. 
It  was  perfectly  satisfied,  and  took  its  own  food, 
and  laughed  and  played  with  the  pebbles  and 
shells  that  were  brought  to  it. 

"  I  have  tried  often,  very  often  to  speak  to  you," 
said  the  mother,  addressing  Anna  for  the  first  time  ; 
"  I  was  conscious,  but  I  could  not  speak ;  I  was  too 
weak  I  suppose,  and  now  my  voice  has  come  back 
to  me,  I  have  no  words,  I  do  not  know  what  I 
can  say  to  you." 

"Will  you  let  me  suggest  what  you  shall  say," 
asked  Anna?  "  It  is  this  ;  say  what  I  can  do  that 
would  most  help  you  and  your  lovely  child ;  and 
now  try  to  rest  while  I  think  how  you  can  be  shel 
tered  from  the  night  air,  for  night  will  be  upon  us 
in  the  course  of  two  hours  at  furthest." 

The  fog  and  mist  had  now  completely  disap 
peared,  and  given  way  to  the  sun,  which,  however, 
was  nearing  the  horizon,  and  the  trees  cast  long 
shadows  on  the  grass. 

While  the  mother  and  child  had  been  asleep  in 
the  afternoon,  Anna  had  built  up  a  few  broken 
boards  and  stones  between  them  and  the  sea,  that 
they  might  not  be  pained  on  their  first  awaking  by 
seeing  the  terrible  sight  which  was  so  near. 

"  I  am  better,"  said  the  mother.  "  I  feel  stronger. 
I  cannot  endure  to  see  you  doing  all.  I  want  to 
help  you.  I  do  not  need  more  rest  now.  But  tell 
me  first,  pray  tell  me  the  truth,  whatever  it  may 
be.  Is  there  any  one  left  alive  here  besides  our 
selves.  Have  you  seen  an  officer  in  a  colonel's 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  49 

uniform  ?  My  husband  was  in  the  service  of  King 
James,  he  wore  the  royal  uniform,  when  he  tied  my 
child  to  my  waist  with  his  sash,  and  lifted  me  into 
a  boat.  I  cannot  remember  any  more.  I  think  I 
must  have  been  stunned.  How  long  have  we  been 
here  ?  I  seem  to  have  lost  some  of  the  time,  but  I 
felt  you  take  away  my  child,  and  I  heard  you  speak 
tenderly  to  it.  Have  we  been  here  too  long  for 
my  husband  to  be  living  ?  Tell  me,  can  it  be  pos 
sible  that  I  may  find  him  ?" 

Anna  could  not  add  to  her  anguish  by  repeating 
what  the  child  had  said  when  questioned  about  its 
father,  for  she  believed  it  had  spoken  truly  when 
it  answered, 

"  Dorn  seep,  down  dare." 

"  I  do  not  think  we  have  been  here  longer  than 
to-day,"  she  replied.  "  I  do  not  know  exactly.  It 
was  early  in  the  morning  when  our  ship  struck  the 
rocks,  but  it  was  broad  daylight  when  I  came  to 
my  senses  on  the  shore.  The  tide  was  coming  in, 
it  was  very  high,  and  now  it  must  have  been  going 
out  for  nearly  four  hours,  so  I  think  we  must  have 
been  cast  on  shore  this  morning." 

"  Then  my  husband  may  still  be  alive,  I  must 
seek  him."  With  those  words,  she  rose  to  her 
feet,  but  nearly  fainted  with  the  effort. 

"Your  child  is  sleeping,"  said  Anna.  "  Let  me 
support  you,  if  you  will  attempt  to  walk.  Tell  me 
your  husband's  name,  that  I  may  call  it  aloud  ; 
these  rocks  are  very  rugged  and  I  can  send  my 
voice  into  places  among  them,  that  it  would  be  im 
possible  to  go  into." 
3 


50  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"  Colonel  Carleton,"  she  replied. 

"  Lean  on  me,  Mrs.  Carleton.  Shall  we  go 
down  this  way  ?" 

The  tide  had  carried  out  the  mass  of  floating 
bodies  to  which  the  child  had  pointed  at  noon,  but 
numbers  of  others  still  remained  in  all  directions. 
Tottering  and  staggering  among  the  dead,  Mrs. 
Carleton  continued  her  search,  until  she  had 
looked  into  every  ghastly  face  that  lay  there. 

"  Now  will  you  call  aloud  for  me,"  she  said,  "  for 
I  cannot,  my  strength  is  gone." 

Anna  called,  but  the  only  sound  that  came  back 
was  the  echo  of  her  own  voice  from  the  forest  and 
the  heavy  rolling  of  the  sea.  They  returned  in 
silence  to  the  child,  who  was  still  asleep.  The  sun 
had  nearly  set,  when  all  at  once  a  rich,  bright  glow 
from  the  west  rose  behind  the  forest  and  flooded 
every  object  with  golden  light.  Looking  out  to 
sea  eastward,  they  observed  only  a  few  miles  away 
many  islands,  some  of  them  covered  with  forests 
clown  to  the  water's  edge. 

"  Where  can  we  be,"  they  both  ejaculated  at  the 
same  time.  There  was  no  habitation  visible  on 
any  of  them,  nor  any  smoke  rising  from  them. 

"These  trees  remind  me  of  Norway,"  said  Anna. 
"  Do  you  think  we  can  be  in  Norway  ?" 

"  I  am  unable  to  say,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton, 
"  but  I  am  sure  we  are  in  a  northern  clime  by  the 
growth  both  of  trees  and  plants." 

The  ladies  seated  themselves  by  the  sleeping 
child,  trying  to  think  what  it  was  best  for  them  to 
do.  There  was  no  time  for  delay  ;  it  would  soon 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  51 

be  dark,  and  the  little  group  of  three  appeared  to 
be  the  only  living  human  beings  in  the  place, 
wherever  that  place  might  be.  While  they  were 
talking  together,  they  had  turned  their  backs  to 
the  Sea  and  were  looking  toward  the  sunset,  and 
watching  the  varied  rays  of  light  which  here  and 
there  penetrated  through  the  forest  on  the  hill 
before  them. 

"  I  did  not  hear  your  name,  Mrs.  Carleton,  on 
board  the  ship  I  sailed  in  from  England,"  said 
Anna. 

"  I  did  not  come  from  England"  she  answered. 
"  My  parents  settled  in  the  colony  of  Virginia 
long  ago.  I  was  born  there,  that  is  my  home.  My 
husband  as  well  as  myself,  had  many  relatives  in 
England,  and  we  were  going  to  visit  them,  and  in 
tended  to  have  our  child  baptized  there,  that  its 
name  might  be  registered  among  those  of  its  fore 
fathers.  Sometime  after  we  sailed,  we  fell  in  with 
buccaneers  :  but  our  ship,  the  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
was  a  fast  sailor,  and  we  got  away  from  them  ;  yet 
I  was  told  when  the  hurricane  came  on,  that  they 
were  the  cause  of  our  being  out  of  our  course, 
hence  our  calamity." 

"  We  met  the  same  destiny,"  said  Anna,  and 
then  she  told  in  a  few  words  whence  she  had 
sailed,  and  that  her  name  was  Vyvyan. 

The  hill  in  front  of  the  ladies,  rose  too  high  for 
them  to  see  the  actual  setting  of  the  sun,  but  the 
rich  glow  of  gold  and  crimson  now  lit  up  the 
whole  forest,  and  defined  the  outline  of  the  rising 
ground. 


52  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

"  What  is  that  I  see  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  shad 
ing  her  eyes  with  her  hands. 

"Tall  pines"  I  think,  answered  Anna. 

"  No,  it  is  a  tower  ;  look,  Miss  Vyvyan,  in  that  di 
rection,  see  on  the  hill ;  it  is  a  stone  tower ;  look, 
now  the  light  has  changed ;  there  are  windows, 
many  of  them,  see  on  the  right  the  building  ex 
tends  a  great  way,  it  is  very  large." 

Anna  looked  through  the  wood  where  Mrs. 
Carleton  directed,  and  saw  distinctly  in  the  rosy 
light  of  the  sunset,  an  immense  stone  building, 
with  a  massive  tower  capable  of  containing  many 
rooms,  and  rising  to  the  height  of  two  hundred, 
feet,  With  the  exception  of  the  tower,  the  build 
ing  was  very  irregular,  and  gave  the  impression  of 
having  been  erected  at  different  periods.  It  com 
bined  the  characteristics  of  a  feudal  castle  and  a 
fortress.  It  was  old  and  gray,  but  by  no  means  a 
ruin,  yet  it  had  a  gloomy  and  forbidding  appear 
ance.  The  ladies  looked  at  each  other  and  hesi 
tated,  they  did  not  speak  for  a  few  moments ;  the 
same  idea  possessed  the  mind  of  each.  They 
thought  that  good  people  would  not  live  in  such  a 
place,  amid  such  wild  surroundings,  but  neither 
one  of  them  would  unnerve  the  other  by  saying 
so,  for  they  knew  in  their  present  situation  they 
required  all  the  courage  that  they  could  command, 
in  order  that  they  might  be  ready  to  meet  their 
uncertain  fate. 

While  they  continued  looking  almost  spellbound 
the  child  awoke,  and  observing  their  earnest  gaze, 
added  her  own  scrutiny  to  theirs.  She  bent  her 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  53 

little  golden  head  forward  and  saw  some  of  the 
windows  upon  which  the  reflection  of  light  glinted. 
"Home"  she  exclaimed,  smiling  with  childish 
glee,  "doe  home,"  taking  hold  of  her  mother's 
dress  to  draw  her  in  the  direction  of  the  building, 
which  was  about  half-way  up  the  hill,  and  only  a 
few  hundred  yards  from  where  they  now  stood. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  battled  towers  the  donjon  keep, 

The  loop-hole  grates  where  captives  weep, 

The  flanking  walls  that  round  it  sweep, 
In  yellow  luster  shone. 


Act,  —  act  'm  the  living  present ! 
Heart  within  and  God  o'erhead ! 


Let  us  then  be  up  and  doing 

With  a  heart  for  any  fate 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing 

Learn  to  labor  and  to  wait. 

,HE  ladies  held  a  consultation,  should  they 
H  attempt  to  go  to  the  castle  and  ask  for 
shelter.  How  could  the  child,  which  like 
themselves  had  hitherto  lived  in  luxury, 
pass  a  night  on  the  beach.  Beside  the  forest 
looked  as  if  it  was  the  resort  of  wolves  and  bears. 
It  would  be  unsafe.  They  could  not  after  dark 
remain  where  they  were,  there  was  no  alternative, 
so  they  decided  to  go  at  once  to  the  building. 
There  was  no  path,  but  they  held  the  branches 
aside  for  each  other.  Taking  the  child  with  them, 
they  stumbled  over  the  loose  stones  and  among 
the  briers  as  well  as  their  want  of  strength  would 
permit,  for  they  were  much  exhausted.  Mrs. 
Carleton  was  so  weak  that  she  fell  several  times 
and  was  severely  hurt,  but  no  murmur  escaped  her 
and  she  rose  and  struggled  on  again  as  if  nothing 


BUCCANEER  DAYS  55 

had  happened,  turning,  from  time  to  time,  with 
some  word  of  kindness  or  cheer  to  Miss  Vyvyan, 
who  was  helping  the  little  one  along. 

Emerging  from  the  woods,  they  found  them 
selves  in  a  long,  open  space  of  grass,  which  was 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  forest.  The  great 
building  stood  full  in  front  of,  and  overshadowed 
them.  It  was  a  veritable  feudal  castle  and,  as  we 
have  said,  grand,  gloomy  and  forbidding  to  look  at. 
The  windows  were  far  up  from  the  ground,  no 
entrance  door  was  in  sight,  no  walks  or  drives 
around  it,  everywhere  rank  grass,  with  here  and 
there  a  tuft  of  golden-rod,  or  fall  aster  springing 
up.  No  smoke  rising  from  any  of  the  chimneys, 
no  traces  of  footsteps,  no  sound  but  the  sighing  of 
the  wind- through  the  pines,  and  the  surging  of  the 
ocean.  Mrs.  Carleton  was  first  to  break  the 
silence. 

"  If  I  were  by  myself,"  said  she,  "  I  should 
imagine  I  must  be  dreaming,  but  I  feel  the  reality 
of  our  position,  this  is  no  dream.  We  are  all  alone 
here;  this  place  must  have  been  deserted  long  ago. 
Look,  there  is  the  entrance  overgrown  with 
brambles.  It  is  best  that  we  are  alone  ;  if  we  can 
get  shelter,  we  need  not  fear  molestation." 

She  spoke  calmly  and  cheerfully  and  tried  to 
wear  a  smile  for  the  sake  of  the  two  who  were 
looking  at  her  and  listening  to  her  words.  Anna 
had  entertained  grave  fears  for  Mrs.  Carleton  while 
they  were  getting  up  to  the  castle.  She  thought 
the  delicate  frame  must  give  way  altogether,  but 
she  now  saw  that  her  newly-made  friend  was  as 


56  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

brave,  as  she  was  gentle  and  loving  and  faithful, 
and  fear  gave  place  to  hope  and  resolve.  As  she 
went  a  few  steps  to  gather  some  asters,  which  the 
child  wished  for,  she  said  to  herself,  "  This  fragile, 
suffering,  uncomplaining  woman  has  already  taught 
me  a  great  lesson,  and  I  will  never  seek  selfish 
relief  by  adding  to  her  overburdened  life,  the 
weight  of  my  own  sorrow.  She  shall  always  think 
me  cheerful,  whatever  I  may  know  my  self  to  be, 
for  nothing  that  I  can  do  will  be  of  so  much  help 
to  her  and  the  sweet  child." 

As  Anna  returned,  the  little  one  stretched  out 
her  hands  to  receive  the  flowers  and  held  up  the 
rosy  lips  to  give  a  kiss  for  them,  which  was  her 
usual  mode  of  acknowledging  any  kindness  shown 
to  her. 

"  Miss  Vyvyan,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  I  have 
been  looking  on  the  other  side  while  you  have 
been  gathering  the  flowers.  I  find  there  is  an 
immense  pile  of  ruins  there,  which  looks  as  if  it 
were  the  ruins  of  a  tower.  That  small  entrance 
at  the  north  end  is  the  only  one  that  is  open. 
Shall  we  try  to  get  in,  we  can  beat  down  the 
brambles." 

The  doorway  was  low  and  arched,  the  stone 
work  about  it  coarse  and  massive,  the  door  had 
fallen  from  the  upper  hinge,  and  lay  so  far  open 
that  ingress  was  very  easy.  The  ladies  entered 
and  passed  into  a  broad  stone  passage,  which  was 
many  yards  in  length  and  led  to  a  staircase  at  the 
foot  of  the  great  tower  at  the  south  end.  As  they 
passed  along  the  passage,  they  saw  a  number  of 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  57 

rooms  on  either  side,  which  were  all  in  semidark- 
ness,  being  lighted  only  by  narrow  loopholes  in  the 
outer  walls,  yet  there  was  sufficient  light  to  show 
them  that  they  were  all  well  filled  with  what 
appeared  to  be  chests,  boxes  and  packages,  but  the 
ladies  were  too  much  fatigued  to  make  any  exam 
ination  of  them.  They  observed  that  the  walls 
were  all  of  rough  stone,  but  there  was  no  feeling 
of  dampness.  On  reaching  the  staircase,  Mrs. 
Carleton  discovered  some  inscriptions  cut  deep 
into  the  wall. 

"  What  is  this,  Miss  Vyvyan  ?  I  see  it  is  not 
Greek  or  Latin  or  Hebrew.  I  never  saw  any 
characters  like  these."  r 

"  They  are  runic,"  replied  Anna.  "  I  should 
not  know  what  they  are,  only  that  I  have  seen  them 
on  old  ruins  in  Norway.  Do  you  think  we  are  in 
Norway  ?  This  old  castle  is  very  much  like  build 
ings  I  have  seen  there." 

Mrs.  Carleton,  who  was  an  excellent  botanist, 
again  referred  to  the  trees  and  plants  which  they 
had  seen  as  they  came  up  from  the  beach. 

"  Those  fall  asters,"  she  said,  "  and  the  species 
of  golden-rod  are  both  of  northern  growth,  but  I 
cannot  in  the  least  feel  sure  of  our  whereabouts. 
It  scarcely  seems  probable  that  we  shall  find  the 
means  of  getting  away  from  this  place  very  soon, 
for  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  commerce  here, 
and  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  nothing  for  merchants  or 
traders  to  come  for.  I  do  not  say  this  to  dishearten 
you,  Miss  Vyvyan,  but  I  feel  it  right  that  we 
should  speak  openly  and  honestly  to  each  other." 
3* 


58  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"  I  understand  you  "  replied  Anna,  "  you  do  not 
wish  to  fill  my  imagination  with  false  hopes  ;  it  is 
good,  and  kind,  and  sensible,  and  I  thank  you  for 
speaking  as  you  have  done.  I  feel  myself  that 
this  is  no  time  for  dreaming,  and  I  do  not  any 
longer  care  to  indulge  in  it.  All  I  care  for,  is  to 
lead  an  earnest,  true  life  in  whatever  position  Fate 
may  place  me.  If  we  are  destined  to  remain  to 
gether,  you  shall  see." 

The  ladies  had  now  ascended  the  winding  stone 
staircase  as  far  as  the  top  of  the  first  flight  from 
the  ground.  From  the  stairs,  they  stepped  into  a 
corridor  with  a  stone  floor  and  bare  stone  walls, 
somewhat  similar  to  the  one  below,  but  wider  and 
well  lighted.  From  this  corridor,  branched  off 
other  passages  and  staircases,  leading  both  above 
and  below,  and  numberless  rooms  of  all  kinds,  the 
doors  of  which  were  chiefly  open,  showing  the 
most  luxurious  and  costly  furniture,  and  the  rich 
est  hangings,  containing  chests  filled  with  rich  vel 
vets  and  satins,  and  all  other  requirements  of 
ladies'  dress.  Some  rooms  were  evidently  sleeping 
apartments,  others  were  furnished  as  parlors,  the 
walls  being  hung  with  tapestry,  and  adorned  with 
rare  paintings  and  mirrors  in  frames  of  the  most 
exquisite  workmanship,  in  ivory,  silver  and  bronze. 
Rich  carpets  and  rugs  covered  the  floors.  The 
rooms  all  felt  dry.  They  had  wide,  open  fireplaces 
in  which  stood  fire  dogs  of  brass  or  iron  ;  in  some 
of  them  still  remained  half-burned  or  charred  logs, 
and  the  dead  ashes  of  long  years  ago.  The 
ladies  remarked  that,  amidst  all  this  abundance  of 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  59 

wealth,  there  was  a  certain  incongruity  in  the  ar 
rangement  of  the  contents  of  every  room.  In  one 
they  found  silk  draperies  from  India,  a  divan  from 
Turkey,  an  Italian  settee  in  the  finest  Florentine 
carving;  beside  it  a  massive  English  table  of  heart 
of  oak,  and  the  light,  spider-legged  gilt  chairs  of 
Paris,  with  their  faded  red  silk  cushions,' and  so  on. 
They  rambled  through  room  after  room.  In  many 
of  them  were  firearms  of  all  dates  and  nations, 
sabers  and  cutlasses,  daggers  and  swords,  with  pis 
tols  and  guns,  and  powder  flasks,  and  spears. 
Some  of  these  lay  upon  the  tables  and  chairs,  and 
others  hung  from  the  walls.  In  all  the  sleeping- 
rooms,  were  numberless  articles  of  men's  dress, 
uniforms  and  costumes  of  various  kinds,  sufficient 
in  variety  to  supply  disguises  for  a  whole  regiment. 
With  the  exception  of  the  number  of  firearms 
and  other  instruments  of  warfare  lying  about,  the 
rooms  were  all  in  order.  The  reflection  of  the  set 
ting  sun  streamed  in  at  the  windows,  and  across 
the  floors  at  the  west  side  of  the  castle,  and  lit  up 
the  mirrors,  and  pictures,  and  beautiful  and  curious 
works  of  art,  which  hung  on  the  walls,  or  stood  on 
'the  shelves,  or  on  quaint  pieces  of  furniture,  and 
which  abounded  everywhere  and  made  the  interior 
of  the  building  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  gloomy- 
looking  outside. 

Passing  hastily  through  the  rooms  which  led  off 
the  corridors,  the  ladies  returned  to  the  great 
tower  at  the  south  end.  They  found  the  door, 
which  gave  entrance  to  it  was  closed  ;  but  on  Mrs. 
Carleton  laying  her  hand  upon  the  lock,  it  at  once 


(JO  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

gave  way,  and  they  went  through  a  vestibule,  and 
entered  a  large  and  very  handsome  room.  It  was 
octagon  in  form,  with  a  window  in  every  di 
vision.  The  upper  part  of  each  window  was  made 
of  antique  painted  glass,  which  shed  red  hues  of 
crimson,  gold  and  purple  in  different  parts  of  the 
room,  ever  Varying  their  position  with  the  change 
in  the  sun's  altitude,  and  giving  the  apartment  at 
all  times  of  the  day,  a  bright,  cheerful  appearance. 
This  room  was  furnished  still  more  gorgeously 
than  any  of  the  others.  The  walls  were  hung 
with  the  richest  kinds  of  Spanish  tapestry  ;  on 
a  ground  of  dark  green  silk  velvet,  was  embroid 
ered  large  flowers  and  arabesques  in  gold,  inter 
spersed  at  intervals  with  the  well-known  representa 
tions  of  the  three  castles,  which  are  a  part  of  the 
arms  of  Spain.  The  furniture  was  all  of  chestnut, 
carved  in  the  deeply  cut  and  highly  raised  work, 
which  is  so  rich  and  elaborate,  and  peculiar  to  the 
Spanish  artists.  Several  curiously  cut  mirrors 
hung  on  the  walls,  and  also  some  exceedingly  deli 
cate  paintings  in  ivory,  ancj  a  number  of  choice 
enamels  on  plaques  of  gold.  The  mantel  piece  of 
stone  was  high  and  •  adorned  with  beautiful  vases 
of  Egyptian  and  Etruscan  make,  mingled  with 
those  of  Rome  and  Herculaneum,  and  the  more 
modern  flower-holders  of  Bohemian  and  Venetian 
glass.  The  sofas,  as  well  as  the  luxurious  arm 
chairs,  were  covered  with  green  silk  velvet.  The 
window  draperies  were  of  the  same,  ornamented 
with  gold  fringe. 

The  floor  was  made  of  various  kinds,  inlaid  in 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  61 

mosaic  work,  as  we  see  them  in  Italy.  Soft  ruby 
colored  rugs  were  lying  in  front  of  the  table,  and 
before  the  fireplace.  On  one  side,  was  a  small 
carved  bookcase  containing  a  few  volumes  of  nov 
els,  some  of  poetry  and  a  few  sacred  books  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  creed,  all  of  them  in  Spanish. 

In  one  or  two  of  the  books,  the 'name  of  "  Inez  " 
was  written.  Across  the  end  of  one  of  the  sofas 
lay  a  guitar  of  satin-wood,  inlaid  with  mother-o'- 
pearl,  with  a  Spanish  lace  mantilla  by  the  side  of 
it,  and  on  a  small  table  close  by  was  an  open  music 
book  containing  Spanish  songs. 

Everything  gave  evidence'  of  having  'been  left 
untouched  for  many  years,  the  flowers  in  the  vases 
had  dried,  and  fallen  bit  by  bit,  and  lay  in  small 
heaps  that  looked  like  chaff.  In  one  corner  of 
the  room  stood  a  tall  Chinese  jar,  that  had  once 
contained  sprays  of  the  fragrant  fir  balsam,  which 
was  now  little  else  than  dust.  In  the  wide,  open 
fireplace  on  the  hearth,  the  wood  that  had  been 
carefully  placed  on  the  dogs  ready  to  light,  had 
become  so  dry,  that  it  had  crumbled  away,  and 
fallen  to  pieces  with  its  own  weight. 

The  ladies  felt  the  importance  of  using  the 
remaining  daylight  in  making  some  preparations 
for  the  night,  so  deferred  any  further  examination 
of  the  castle  until  the  next  day.  They  experienced 
a  certain  feeling  of  safety  in  being  alone.  , 

"  Mrs.  Carleton,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan,  "  you  will 
not  mind  if  I  run  down  to  the  beach,  and  bring 
up  some  of  the  table  covers  and  some  food.  I 
shall  soon  be  back  again." 


62  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

"  I  do  not  mind  being  left,  but  I  do  mind  your 
doing  it  without  help  ;  I  want  to  help  you  in  every 
thing,  but  I  am  not  strong  enough  yet.  We  will 
stand  by  the  window  and  watch  you  as  far  as  we 
can." 

The  child  understood  the  conversation,  and 
turning  with  a  very  earnest  and  inquiring  look  to 
her  mother,  she  said,  . 

"Be  back." 

"  Yes,  dear,  Miss  Vyvyan  is  coming  back.  That 
is  my  little  one's  way  of  saying  she  wishes  you  to 
return,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton.  "  She  always  says  to 
me,  if  I  am  leaving  the  room,  '  be  back,'  she  means 
come  back." 

"I  like  to  hear  her  say  it,"  said  Anna;  "it  sounds 
so  real  and  so  pretty,  and  it  is  her  own  way  of 
expressing  what  she  desires.  I  hope  you  will 
always  allow  her  to  keep  that  little  remnant  of 
babyhood.  I  ask  it  of  you  as  a  favor." 

"  I  am  only  too  glad,  Miss  Vyvyan,  to  do  any 
thing  you  wish,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton. 

As  Anna  left  the  room  and  hastened  down  the 
tower  stairs,  she  heard  the  sweet  little  voice  call 
ing  after  her, 

"  Be  back,  be  back." 

Mrs.  Carleton  had  prepared  a  pleasant  surprise 
for  Anna  on  her  return.  She  had  taken  a  flint 
from  the  lock  of  one  of  the  guns,  and  had  suc 
ceeded  in  lighting  a  cheerful  fire,  before  which  the 
ladies  spread  the  table  covers,  and  slept  until  the 
light  of  the  morning  sun  shone  in  upon  them 
through  one  of  the  painted  windows,  and  made 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  63 

brilliant  hues  in  various  parts  of  the  room,  which 
the  child  called  butterflies.  The  little  party  was 
rested  and  refreshed,  and  awoke  to  be  greeted  by 
a  beautiful  day. 

As  soon  as  they  had  breakfasted,  they  began  a 
thorough  investigation  of  their  new  abode.  They 
descended  to  the  basement  where  they  had  en 
tered,  and  discovered  in  one  of  the  rooms  immense 
stores  of  provisions  of  all  kinds,  many  of  them  in 
good  order,  for  they  were  in  sealed  jars  and  cases. 
One  of  the  down-stairs  rooms  was  a  carpenter's 
shop,  containing  tools  of  all  sorts,  which  were  of 
great  use  to  the  ladies  in  opening  many  things 
that  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  them  to  do 
otherwise.  There  was  a  large  store  of  wine,  and 
a  kitchen  containing  strangely  shaped  cooking 
utensils  from  different  countries.  Near  the  small 
north  doorway^by  which  the  ladies  entered  the 
castle,  was  a  narrow  stone  staircase,  leading  down 
under  ground,  but  it  was  so  dimly  lighted,  that 
they  did  not  attempt  to  go  down  it.  Ascending 
again  to  the  tower,  they  discovered  several  more 
beautiful  rooms  in  it,  all  richly  furnished.  All 
these  rooms  had  apparently  been  set  apart  for  the 
use  of  the  lady,  with  the  exception  of  one,  a 
library,  containing  carved  oak  shelves,  loaded  with 
books  in  many  different  languages ;  the  heavy 
furniture  was  also  of  carved  oak,  cushioned  with 
old  gold  embossed  leather.  A  Spanish  cloak  of 
crimson  velvet  was  thrown  across  the  back  of  one 
of  the  chairs,  and  upon  the  seat  of  it  lay  a  som 
brero  with  a  plume,  also  a  sword  and  a  pair  of 


64  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

gauntlets.  An  arched  doorway  in  one  corner  of 
the  library,  led  into  a  small  watch  tower,  the  whole 
size  of  which  was  filled  up  by  a  winding  stone 
staircase. 

"Come,  Miss  Vyvyan,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  we 
will  go  up  here,  and  we  may,  perhaps,  see  some 
thing  that  will  tell  us  where  we  are."  They 
climbed  the  stairs  to  the  top,  and  passed  through  a 
low  door  on  to  the  battlements  of  a  great  tower, 
whence  they  looked  down  at  the  pine  trees,  two 
hundred  feet  below.  They  saw  at  once  that  they 
were  on  an  island  ;  not  by  any  means  a  large  one, 
and  that  the  whole  of  it  was  covered  by  forest  as 
far  as  the  water's  edge,  excepting  in  a  few  places 
where  a  bare  rock  or  swamp  intervened.  They 
looked  to  the  south  and  saw  only  the  open  ocean. 
The  day  was  clear  and  calm,  and  they  could  see 
away  to  the  horizon.  To  the  east  lay  many  other 
islands  ;  then  to  the  north  the  same  sight  met 
their  eyes.  Looking  to  the  west  still  more  islands 
were  to  be  seen,  and  also  what  appeared  to  be  the 
mainland,  and  far  away,  perhaps  seventy  miles  off 
in  the  distance,  a  magnificent  range  of  lofty  moun 
tains.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  beauty  of  the 
scene.  As  they  walked  round  the  top  of  the 
tower,  looking  down  upon  all  these  forest-clad 
islands  without  any  sign  of  habitation,  Mrs.  Carle- 
ton,  turning  to  Anna,  said,  "  Let  us  try  to  think 
over  all  the  maps  we  have  studied  in  our  geogra 
phy  lessons." 

"Just  what  I  have  been  trying  to  do,"  said  Anna, 
"but  I  can  only  think  of  a  great  number  of  islands 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  65 

in  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  we  know  we  are  not 
there,  and  we  are  not  in  any  of  the  West  India 
islands,  for,  as  you  say,  the  trees  tell  us  we  are  in 
the  north,  and  now  that  I  see  so  many  islands,  I 
know  we  are  not  in  Norway.  But  is  it  not  strange 
that  the  runic  characters  are  in  so  many  places  in 
this  castle  ?  See,  here  are  more  of  them,  exactly 
the  same  as  I  saw  when  we  were  in  Norway." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton  ;  "  everything  tells 
us  we  are  in  the  north,  and  also  tells  us  we  are 
alone.  We  may  have  to  remain  here,  we  know 
not  how  long,  perhaps  years ;  and  then,  too,  we 
have  something  else  to  consider.  These  trees 
show  that  the  winters  in  this  region  are  very 
severe,  as  do  also  the  rents  in  the  rocks  that  we 
clambered  among  on  our  way  up  to  the  castle. 
Those  great  fissures  were  all  caused  by  the  action 
of  intense  frosts,  by  such  a  degree  of  cold  as  you 
and  I  have  no  idea  of,  excepting  from  what  we  have 
read.  In  a  climate  like  this,  we  know  the  winter 
sets  in  early,  so  I  think,  Miss  Vyvyan,  the  only 
thing  we  can  do  is  to  prepare  for  it  immediately 
as  soon  as  we  can." 

"  I  see ;  everything  is  exactly  as  you  say,"  replied 
Anna,  "  and  now  let  me  ask  you  a  favor.  I  am 
stronger  physically  than  you  are,  and  I  beg  you  to 
allow  me  to  undertake  the  heavier  share  of  our 
occupation.  Let  me  do  all  that  requires  to  be  done 
outside  the  castle,  such  as  getting  wood  and  water, 
and  whatever  we  may  want  from  the  wreckage, 
and  you  take  charge  of  the  inside  of  our  present 
home,  in  which  you  must  allow  me  to  help  you.  I 


66  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

understand  you  already,  and  I  believe  you  would 
do  everything  and  endure  all  the  fatigue  without  a 
murmur,  but  that  is  impossible;  you  have  not  the 
strength,  and  you  must  try  to  be  well  for  the  sake 
of  your  dear  child." 

Mrs.  Carleton  endeavored  to  remonstrate  with 
Miss  Vyvyan  about  the  division  of  the  toil,  which 
was  so  new  and  strange  to  each  of  them,  for  she  was 
born  with  a  great  generous  heart  that  was  ready 
and  willing  to  do  and  die  for  others ;  but  Anna 
would  not  listen  to  her  sweet  pleadings,  although 
in  her  soul  she  admired  them. 

"  Bow  wow,"  said  the  little  one,  pointing  down 
to  the  forest. 

The  ladies  looked  over  the  battlements  and,  to 
their  horror,  saw  three  wolves  creeping  stealthily 
along  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  pines  below. 
They  thought  instantly  of  the  the  fallen  door  at 
the  entrance,  and  hastened  down  the  tower  stairs 
as  far  as  the  room  hung  with  green  velvet  tapestry, 
where  they  had  passed  the  night,  and  which  they 
decided  should  in  future  be  their  sitting-room,  so 
they  named  it  the  green  parlor.  As  they  entered, 
the  glow  of  the  cheerful  fire  on  the  hearth,  the 
beautiful  prospect  of  forest  and  sea  from  the 
windows,  and  the  child's  butterflies,  glancing  here 
and  there,  gave  a  bright  arid  pleasant  air  to  the 
room,  but  the  ladies  felt  much  disturbed  by  the 
discovery  of  wolves  so  near  them,  and  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  open  door  in  the  passage  below. 

"  Miss  Vyvyan,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  there  are 
other  doors  of  entrance  to  this  castle ;  I  saw 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  67 

them,  we  will  go  and  see  if  we  can  open  one  of 
them  ;  and  then  we  will  close  up  the  door  below 
altogether." 

At  the  end  of  a  passage  leading  from  the  tower, 
and  not  far  from  the  green  parlor,  they  found  a 
massive  door,  strongly  barred  and  bolted  inside. 
They  drew  the  bolts,  and  on  opening  it  led  down 
on  the  outside,  by  a  long  flight  of  stone  stairs  to 
the  grass  below,  and  very  near  to  the  place  on 
which  they  stood  on  their  arrival  from  the  beach. 

"  We  shall  be  safe  in  one  respect  now,"  said 
Mrs.  Carleton,  "  for  no  animal  can  break  this  door 
and  we  can  keep  it  bolted." 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  now  was  to  close  up 
the  entrance  down  stairs.  The  ladies  went  down 
and  out  through  the  door  by  which  they  had 
entered  the  castle  at  the  north  end.  Quickly 
gathering  up  some  of  the  wood  which  lay  round 
about  J:hem,  they  set  fire  to  it,  in  order  to  scare 
away  any  wolves  which  might  be  prowling  near, 
and  at  once  went  to  work,  carrying  stones  from 
the  ruins  of  the  fallen  tower,  and  by  their  joint 
strength  replacing  the  door.  They  next  piled  up 
such  a  barrier  of  great  stones  behind  it,  that  they 
were  sure  that  no  wolves  could  enter  that  way. 
They  had  finished  their  first  attempt  at  building  and 
were  about  to  go  up  again  to  the  green  parlor, 
when  the  child  with  a  little  laugh  and  in  its  spright 
ly  way  cried  out, 

"  Kitta,  kitta,  see  kitta."  At  the  same  instant 
running  as  fast  as  her  tiny  feet  could  go,  after  two 
small  white  kittens  which  the  next  moment  disap- 


68  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

peared  down  the  half-dark  stairs,  that  they  had 
noticed  when  they  first  arrived,  but  were  too  tired 
to  investigate  at  that  time. 

They  now  looked  down  them  and  in  the  dim 
light,  saw  only  a  passage  which  led  in  the  direction 
of  the  fallen  tower.  They  satisfied  themselves 
that  there  was  no  opening  from  that  to  the  outside 
of  the  building,  and  concluded  that  the  immense 
pile  of  ruins  completely  stopped  up  all  means  of 
ingress  that  way,  so  they  decided  not  to  go  to  the 
bottom  of  the  gloomy  staircase  for  mere  curiosity, 
when  time  was  so  precious  to  them,  for  they  felt 
as  Mrs.  Carleton  had  remarked  that  winter  might 
be  upon  them  very  soon.  They  passed  all  the 
remainder  of  the  day  in  bringing  up  from  the 
beach  such  supplies  as  they  most  needed,  and  de 
cided  to  devote  a  portion  of  each  day  to  this  occu 
pation  as  long  as  the  weather  permitted. 

Before  sunset  they  were  all  safe  in  the  castle 
again,  the  child  running  about  the  room  they  were 
arranging,  and  delighted  with  the  many  beautiful 
ornaments.  The  ladies  made  up  their  minds  to 
adapt  themselves  to  their  circumstances,  and  be  as 
cheerful  as  they  could,  for  the  child's  sake.  They 
selected  the  tower  for  their  residence,  as  it  con 
tained  the  best  rooms  in  the  castle,  and  the  view 
from  every  one  of  them  was  beautiful.  They 
could  go  up  the  watch  tower  and  look  off  from  the 
battlements,  over  the  islands  and  forests,  to  those 
majestic  purple  mountains,  whenever  they  desired 
to  do  so. 

A  sleeping  room  next  to  the  green  parlor  was 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  69 

chosen  for  Mrs.  Carleton.  It  was  fitted  up  with 
the  same  degree  of  luxury  as  most  of  the  others, 
the  furniture  being  of  satin  wood  and  ivory,  and 
the  hangings  and  drapings  of  the  bed  and  win 
dows  of  pink  velvet  and  white  lace.  Two  curiously 
wrought  silver  lamps  stood  on  the  dressing  table, 
and  showed  that  they  had  burned  themselves  out. 
In  front  of  the  mirror  was  a  jewel  casket ;  it  was 
open,  and  showed  rings  and  aigrettes  of  diamonds 
and  emeralds.  A  few  ruby  ornaments  lay  on  the 
table,  and  a  string  of  pearls,  also  a  small  lace  scarf 
and  a  pair  of  lady's  gloves,  embroidered  on  the 
backs  with  gold.  The  curtains  and  velvet  draper 
ies  of  the  windows  were  completely  closed,  and 
the  room  looked  as  though  some  one  had  dressed 
in  it  and  gone  away  and  left  the  lamps  burning. 
Everything  was  a  mystery  to  the  ladies  which  they 
could  not  unravel. 

When  the  day  was  over,  Mrs.  Carleton  and  Miss 
Vyvyan  sat  beside  the  sleeping  child,  in  Mrs. 
Carleton's  room.  The  fire  was  burning  on  the 
hearth,  and  the  full  moon  poured  its  beams  in  at 
the  windows  ;  they  had  no  other  light. 

Mrs.  Carleton  spoke  much  of  her  bereavement, 
but  struggled  to  be  brave,  and  to  resign  herself  to 
a  destiny  she  could  not  alter,  at  the  same  time 
revealing,  quite  unawares  to  herself,  a  character 
full  of  intense  affection,  unselfishness  and  great 
courage. 

As  Anna  watched  the  sweet,  pure  face  so  full 
of  emotion  and  sensibility,  and  the  firelight  flick 
ered  upon  and  lit  up  the  refined  features,  her  whole 


70"  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

heart  yearned  toward  her  new  friend,  and  her  own 
sorrow  was  buried  in  those  of  the  forlorn  young 
mother. 

"  I  have  been  considering,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan, 
"  about  your  child.  Do  you  not  think  we  ought  to 
make  life  as  bright  and  happy  as  we  can  for  her, 
and  we  can  do  a  great  deal,  although  we  may  have 
to  stay  in  exile  for  a  long  while.  She  need  never 
suffer  from  that  idea.  All  will  depend  upon  the 
way  we  educate  her,  and  the  way  we  live. 

"  Exactly  so,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton.  "We  will 
make  our  lives  as  good  an  example  as  possible  ; 
we  will  bring  her  up,  as  far  as  circumstances  will 
admit,  the  same  as  we  would  do  if  she  were  in 
my  old  home.  We  cannot  have  the  servants  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  have,  but  we  can  make 
this  home  a  systematic  one,  and  a  refined  one,  and 
we  must  make  it  a  cheerful  one  for  her  sake." 
There  is  one  thing  I  feel  very  anxious  about,"  said 
Mrs.  Carleton  ;  "  my  child  has  not  yet  been  bap 
tized.  As  'I  told  you,  we  were  going  to  take  her 
to  England  for  that  purpose.  I  should  feel  happier 
if  I  could  carry  out  my*  husband's  wish,  and  be 
able  to  call  her  by  the  name  he  so  much  liked." 

"  I  can  fully  enter  into  your  feelings,"  said  Miss 
Vyvyan.  "  Why  not  baptize  her  yourself  ?  I 
presume  you  are  familiar  with  the  service,  as  we 
have  baptisms  in  our  church  so  frequently." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  and  I  cannot 
see  that  there  would  be  anything  wrong  in  doing 
so,  myself,  as  there  is  not  any  one  else  to  do  it." 

"  It   can  no  more  be  wrong,"    said  Anna,  "  to 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  71 

repeat  the  baptismal  prayers  for  your  child,  than  it 
is  to  offer  up  your  daily  prayers  for  her.  Indeed  to 
me  it  seems  perfectly  right,  as  we  are  situated  at 
present." 

"  I  am  glad  you  entertain  those  feelings  on  the 
subject,  Miss  Vyvyan/'  replied  Mrs.  Carleton, 
"and  as  we  are  both  of  the  English  church,  will 
you  be  godmother  to  my  little  one  ? " 

"  You  confer  great  happiness  on  me,"  replied 
Anna,  "  by  making  such  a  request.  What  do  you 
intend  to  call  her  ?  " 

"  Cora  was  the  name  my  husband  wished  her  to 
be  called,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton.  "and  I  desire  to 
add  Caroline  to  it,  as  that  is  the  name  of  my  dear 
mother,  and  is  now,  alas,  the  only  means  I  have  of 
showing  my  affection  for  her,  who  is  perhaps  at 
this  moment  mourning  my  absence." 

"  Will  you  baptize  her  tomorrow  ? "  inquired 
Miss  Vyvyan.  "  If  you  will,  we  can  make  a  dress 
for  her  in  the  forenoon.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
white  India  muslin  and  cashmere,  too,  enough  I 
should  say  to  dress  her  for  years  to  come." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  I  like  that 
idea,  and  we  will  keep  her  always  dressed  in  white." 

"  And  as  to  yourself,"  said  Anna,  "  I  ask  you  as 
a  favor,  to  let  me  choose  for  you  in  this  instance, 
I  wish  you  always  to  be  beautifully  dressed  in 
colors,  that  will  look  bright  and  cheerful.  I  think 
it  will  have  an  influence  on  the  child's  spirits  and 
thence  on  her  health.  I  do  not  feel  that  we  need 
to  have  any  compunction  about  using  the  things 
we  find  here,  for  we  see  that  this  place  must  have 


72  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

been  deserted  many  years  ago,  and  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  all  these  costly  things  are  the  plun 
der  of  buccaneers." 

"Nothing  is  so  probable,"  answered  Mrs.  Carle- 
ton.  "  Indeed,  when  we  consider  for  a  moment, 
everthing  seems  to  say  so.  Many  of  those  cases 
which  still  remain  unopened  are  such  as  the  mer 
chants  bring  to  the  colony  of  Virginia.  I  have 
seen  similar  ones  there  which  came  from  foreign 
countries.  It  occurs  to  me  that  all  these  stores 
are  the  cargoes  of  ships  that  have  been  robbed  by 
those  desperate  men  who  have  been  and  still  are 
the  terror  of  the  sea ;  but  why  they  left  this  place 
so  suddenly  is  difficult  to  divine,  unless,  perhaps, 
retribution  fell  upon  them  when  they  were  out 
at  sea  on  some  of  their  marauding  expeditions. 
Evidently  a  lady  has  lived  here,  too  ;  perhaps  they 
took  her  with  them  on  their  last  voyage,  and  she 
also  may  have  been  lost,  so  I  think  we  may  feel 
we  are  not  doing  wrong  in  using  such  things  as  are 
necessary  to  our  existence  while  we  are  here." 

The  next  morning  the  ladies  were  up  early 
-busying  themselves  with  their  preparations  for  the 
child's  baptism.  As  they  sat  by  the  open  window 
in  the  green  parlor,  making  the  little  white  dress, 
the  sunlight  falling  upon  the  floor,  the  soft,  warm 
breeze  from  the  south  coming  in  upon  them,  and 
the  beautiful  child  playing  about  the  room,  prat 
tling  to  herself  in  her  baby  language,  and  trying 
with  her  little  hands  to  cover  the  colored  shadows  — 
butterflies  as  she  called  them, —  and  to  hold  them  in 
one  place,  they  each  of  them  thought  to  them- 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  73 

selves  how  much  there  is  in  life  to  make  us  happy ; 
and  yet,  and  yet,  who  can  be  happy  when  there  is 
an  empty  place  which  nothing  here  can  fill.  They 
neither  of  them  expressed  what  they  thought,  for 
they  had  each  made  a  resolution  to  help  the  other. 

The  sea  and  sky  were  one  beautiful  blue;  there 
was  just  sufficient  breeze  to  cause  white  caps  at 
distant  intervals,  and  to  toss  the  surf  lightly 
against  the  rocks. 

The  ladies  finished  their  sewing,  and  with  the 
child  went  out  to  gather  some  wild  flowers  to 
adorn  their  parlor  for  the  baptism.  In  a  few 
minutes  they  saw  a  narrow  path  which  they  fol 
lowed  and  found  that  it  lead  to  a  well  of  pure 
water  only  a  little  way  off.  Below  this  was  a 
swamp  surrounded  by  a  luxuriant  growth  of  asters 
of  every  hue,  and  white  and  pink  spirea  and  golden 
rod,  and  blue  iris,  and  the  delicate,  rose-colored 
arethusa,  and  the  blue  fringed  gentian  abounded 
on  every  hand;  also  shrubs  of  the  bayberry, 
wild  rose  and  sweet  brier,  with  many  beautiful 
ferns. 

By  Mrs.  Carleton's  refined  taste  the  green  parlor 
was  soon  transformed  into  a  fairy  bower.  The 
autumn  sunshine  sent  a  flood  of  golden  light  over 
all,  and  the  child,  dressed  in  its  fresh  white  attire, 
was  baptized,  and  Miss  Vyvyan  was  its  godmother. 
The  ceremony  was  just  over  and  the  latter  lady 
was  still  standing  with  the  child  in  her  arms,  beside 
a  large  crystal  bowl  which  was  placed  on  the  table 
and  embedded  in  green  moss  and  wreathed  round 
the  top  with  white  roses.  It  contained  the  water 
4 


74  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

from  which  the  child  had  received  the  symbol  of 
the  Christian  church. 

"  Now,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  I  wish  to  say  to 
you,  Miss  Vyvyan,  that  from  this  day  Cora  belongs 
to  both  of  us,  to  you  as  well  as  to  myself ;  she  will 
henceforth  be  our  child.  I  want  you  to  have  some 
one  you  can  speak  of  as  '  mine.'  I  am  thankful 
that  I  never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  without  some 
one  of  my  own  to  love,  who  was  near  to  me,  but  I 
can  picture  to  myself  what  a  death  in  life  such  an 
existence  must  be  to  those  who  have  to  endure  the 
separation,  and  I  should  feel  very  selfish  if  I  did 
not  divide  my  happiness  with  you." 

"I  do  not  know  how  to  answer  you,"  said  Miss 
Vyvyan.  "  I  cannot  say  what  I  wish  to.  Will  you 
grant  me  one  more  kindness  ;  that  is,  let  Cora 
always  call  me  by  my  name,  Anna,  and  you  do  the 
same.  It  is  more  than  three  years  since  anyone 
called  me  Anna ;  there  is  no  one  left  to  do  so." 

"I  will,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "and  to  you  I  must 
be  Ada,  for  so  I  am  named.  I  am  glad  that  you 
are  pleased  at  having  Cora  for  your  godchild.  I 
thought  you  would  be ;  that  was  a  little  plan  of 
mine.  I  wanted  to  do  something  to  make  you  fee 
happier." 

Gentle,  loving  Ada,  always  thinking  of  the  good 
she  could  do  to  others,  always  self-abnegating,  al 
ways  giving  up  her  own  happiness  that  others 
might  receive  pleasure ;  even  in  the  midst  of  grief, 
bereavement  and  exile,  devising  means  to  cheer  a 
life  that  she  saw  was  more  lonely  than  her  own 
— such  was  her  character. 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  75 

The  position  in  which  Miss  Vyvyan  now  stood 
as  Cora's  godmother  created  a  sincere  bond  of 
friendship  between  the  two  ladies,  which  as  time 
went  on  developed  into  a  lifelong  affection.  They 
each  understood  and  appreciated  every  thought 
and  feeling  of  the  other.  The  child,  who  was  of  an 
intense  and  affectionate  temperament,  loved  both 
of  her  guardians.  She  confided  in  Anna  and 
would  stay  with  her  for  hours  together,  and  she 
always  demanded  in  her  baby  way  that  Anna 
should  partake  equally  with  her  mother  and  her 
self  of  everything  that  she  deemed  pleasure  and 
enjoyment,  and  if  Miss  Vyvyan  remained  long  out 
of  sight,  inquiry  and  desire  were  expressed  by 
Cora  in  one  little  sentence,  "Anna  be  back."  At 
the  same  time,  with  an  innate  and  delicate  dis 
crimination,  the  child  defined  the  distinction  be 
tween  her  filial  love  for  her  mother  and  that  given 
to  her  friend  in  so  natural  a  way  that  neither  of 
the  ladies  could  ever  feel  slighted  or  wounded  in 
the  least  degree. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

He  who  ascends  to  mountain  tops,  shall  find 

The  lofties  peak  most  wrapped  in  clouds  and  snow ; 

He  who  surpasses  or  subdues  mankind, 

Must  look  down  on  the  hate  of  those  below. 

Though  high  above  the  sun  of  glory  glow, 

And  far  beneath  the  earth  and  ocean  spread, 

Round  him  are  icy  rocks,  and  loudly  blow 

Contending  tempests  on  his  naked  head, 

And  thus  reward  the  toils  which  to  those  summits  led. 

iHEY  had  been  domiciled    in  the  castle  for 
several  days  when  Miss  Vyvyan  said, 

"  As  I  am  to  take  care  of  the  commis 
sariat  department  out  of  doors,  Ada,  I 
think  it  would  be  well  for  me  to  go  down  to  the 
beach  and  bring  up  all  the  provisions  I  can,  while 
we  have  such  fine  weather,  as  we  think  the  winter 
may  be  very  long  here,  so  if  you  consider  it  a  good 
plan  I  will  fill  another  storeroom." 

"We  will  all  go  down,  Anna,"  replied  Mrs. 
Carleton.  "We  have  been  here  five  days  now,  and 
I  hope  the  tide  may  have  removed  much  that 
was  distressing  to  see  there." 

When  the  ladies  reached  the  beach  it  was  as  Mrs. 
Carleton  had  supposed,  all  the  corpses  had  floated 
away,  but  the  whole  beach  and  the  shore  far  up 
from  the  sea  was  still  strewn  with  wreckage.  They 
worked  very  diligently,  making  piles  of  many 
things  that  might  be  useful,  little  Cora  trotting 
about  as  busily  as  her  companions,  and  helping  as 
far  as  she  knew  how.  It  was  scarcely  ten  o'clock, 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  77 

but  the  ladies  had  been  out  in  the  sun  for  some 
time  lifting  and  carrying  heavy  burdens,  an  occu 
pation  which  was  as  fatiguing  to  them  as  it  was 
novel.  So  that  they  might  rest  a  little  while,  and 
get  all  the  sea  breeze  that  there  was  on  that  still 
day,  they  went  out  on  to  a  mass  of  high  rocks, 
which  projected  into  the  ocean  and  formed  a  cove 
on  each  side. 

Scarcely  had  they  seated  themselves,  when  they 
saw  a  gentleman  climbing  up  from  one  of  the 
coves  below  and  coming  toward  them.  He  was  a 
young  man  perhaps  twenty-seven  years  of  age. 
As  he  approached  them,  they  noticed  that  his 
appearance  was  that  of  a  gentleman  of  rank,  his 
every  movement  was  full  of  grace  and  high  breed 
ing,  his  figure  was  slender  and  under  the  middle 
size,  and  his  face  exceedingly  handsome  and  re 
fined.  His  bright  chestnut  colored  hair  was  long 
and  fell  in  waving  masses  on  his  shoulders.  He 
wore  a  small  beard  of  the  same  hue,  his  dress  was 
very  rich  and  elaborate,  after  the  fashion  of  the 
time,  and  when  he  spoke,  his  voice  and  courtly 
manner,  told  that  he  was  what  his  appearance 
indicated.  As  soon  as  he  came  near  to  them,  he 
bowed  low,  and  made  a  gesture  with  one  hand,  as 
if  raising  his  hat,  but  he  was  bareheaded. 

"  Ladies,"  he  began,  "  pardon  me  for  intruding 
upon  you,  but  for  the  love  of  heaven  give  me  a 
cup  of  water,  it  is  many  days  since  I  moistened 
my  lips,  I  have  been  shipwrecked  on  your  coast." 

The  ladies  were  on  their  feet  in  an  instant.  Mrs. 
Carleton  running  to  a  birch  tree  a  few  yards  back 


T'g  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

from  the  beach,  and  breaking  off  a  piece  of  bark, 
deftly  bent  it  into  a  cup,  which  she  handed  to  Miss 
Vyvyan  to  fill  from  the  same  pond  that  had  sup 
plied  them  with  water  the  first  day  they  were 
thrown  upon  the  island.  Refreshed  by  the  draught 
the  stranger  tried  to  thank  them,  but  speech  and 
strength  failed  him,  and  tottering  a  few  paces 
toward  the  land,  he  fell  down  insensible  beside  a 
fissure  in  one  of  the  rocks.  The  ladies  went  to 
him. 

"  His  hands  are  as  cold  as  if  he  were  dead, 
Ada,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan.  "  What  will  it  be  best 
to  do  ? " 

"  What  did  you  do  for  me,  when  you  first  tried 
to  help  me  ? "  replied  Mrs.  Carleton. 

"  I  tried  to  get  you  warm." 

"Well,  then,  we  must  do  that." 

At  these  words,  they  simultaneously  took  off  the 
outside  wraps  they  wore,  and  laid  them  over  him, 
and  hastened  about  among  the  wreckage,  until 
they  had  a  good  supply  of  warm  rugs  and  cover- 
erings. 

"  Where  did  you  get  those  hot  stones  that  you 
placed  at  my  feet,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton  ? 

"  I  made  a  fire  and  heated  them." 

Then  we  will  make  a  fire  and  do  the  same  thing. 

They  covered  the  poor  fellow  over,  and  put  hot 
stones  to  his  feet,  and  he  seemed  to  be  sleeping. 
In  the  meantime  they  prepareed  some  light  food 
for  him.  They  sat  in  silence  near  by,  waiting  to 
see  what  they  could  do,  should  he  return  to  con 
sciousness.  They  observed  the  color  coming  back 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  79 

to  his  face,  and  a  bright  pink  spot  burned  on  each 
cheek; 

"  I  fear,  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  fever  is  setting  in." 
"  I  will  make  something  with  the  fruit  we  brought 
down,  that  will  quench  his  thirst." 

The  child  seemed  to  echo  the  thoughts  of  her 
companions,  seeing  them  anxiously  engaged  in 
ministering  to  the  sufferer.  She  began  gathering 
up  anything  that  she  thought  pretty,  and  laid  it  by 
his  side.  Presently  she  went  to  him  with  a  few 
wild  flowers,  which  she  had  picked  from  the  crev 
ices  of  the  rocks  and  among  the  shore  grass  close 
by.  She  observed  the  ladies  spoke  in  low  tones  to 
each  other  and  moved  about  very  quietly.  She  knew 
there  was  some  cause  for  this,  for,  young  as  she 
was,  she  had  already  an  idea  of  illness  and  suffer 
ing,  and  her  little  heart  was  full  of  pity  for  others. 
She  stood  looking  at  him  as  he  lay  asleep  before 
her,  waiting  with  her  wild  flowers,  until  the  time 
should  come  for  her  to  give  them  to  him.  "  Poor 
est,  poorest,"  she  repeated,  at  the  same  time 
stroking  his  hair  with  her  baby  hand.  That  was 
her  own  word,  and  her  own  way  of  showing  sym 
pathy  and  pity.  The  little  one's  vocabulary  was, 
at  this  period  of  her  life,  very  limited,  but  equally 
significant  of  all  that  she  saw  and  felt.  She 
possessed  no  extraneous  babble.  The  only  words 
she  was  capable  of  uttering  came  from  her  heart ; 
hence  they  fell  upon  her  hearers  with  all  the  beauty 
and  strength  of  truth.  "  Poorest,  poorest,"  she 
again  repeated;  "dorn  seep;  papa  dorn  seep,  too." 

At  the  child's  last  sentence,  a  shudder  quivered 


80  PEAK'S  ISLANt). 

through  Mrs.  Carleton's  frame,  and  a  still  whiter 
shade  passed  over  the  already  pale  face.-  She 
clasped  her  little  one  close  to  her  and  bowed  down 
upon  its  head.  She  did  not  utter  a  sound.  Her 
silence  said  more  than  any  words  could  have  done, 
for  hers  was  a  sorrow  that  had  no  speech. 

After  a  restful  sleep,  the  young  man  awoke,  and 
sitting  up  among  the  many  rugs  and  coverings  by 
which  he  was  surrounded,  he  looked  about  in  every 
direction,  and  appeared  to  be  endeavoring  to  real 
ize  his  true  position.  He  saw  the  high  tower  of 
the  castle  rising  so  near  to  him  among  the  trees  ; 
he  saw  the  ladies  and  the  child,  but  he  did  not  feel 
quitej  sure  of  the  truth  of  all  he  saw  until  Mrs. 
Carleton  put  a  cup  into  his  hand  and  said, 

"  This  is  a  fever  drink  ;  will  you  take  some  ?  I 
have  just  made  it  from  fruit,  the  same  as  we  make 
it  in  Virginia." 

"  Thank  you,"  he  said.  "  I  know  what  it  is.  I 
am  a  Virginian.  I  sailed  from  that  colony  in  the 
ship  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Who  has  been  so  kind 
as  to  bring  me  all  these  rugs,"  he  continued. 

"We  did,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton,  looking  in  the 
direction  of  Miss  Vyvyan,  who  with  the  child 
stood  near  them. 

"  What,  with  your  own  hands  ?  I  regret  to 
have  caused  you  so  much  trouble;  although  I  am 
grateful  to  you  in  the  extreme,  I  would  have  pre 
ferred  you  to  have  given  orders  to  some  of  your 
servants.  It  is  not  seemly  that  ladies  such  you  are 
should  wait  upon  me ;  it  is  not  consistent  with  the 
chivalry  of  a  gentleman." 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  81 

"I  understand  your  feelings  on  this  subject," 
said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  for  I,  too,  am  a  Virginian  ;  but 
we  have  no  servants  now,  and  my  friend  and  I  are 
glad  that  we  can  be  useful.  It  is  five  days  since 
your  ship  was  wrecked,  therefore  we  know  that 
you  must  have  suffered  greatly.  Pray  do  not  be 
disturbed  by  seeing  us  doing  what  little  we  can  to 
save  you  from  perishing  ;  let  me  assure  you  that 
we  are  very  happy  to  do  our  utmost." 

The  young  man  bowed,  his  cheeks  still  wore  the 
bright  flush  of  fever  which  heightened  the  inten 
sity  of  his  soft  brown  eyes,  that  beamed  with  grati 
tude. 

"  Do  you  say  that  you  are  a  Virginian  ?  "  he  in 
quired,  addressing  Mrs.  Carleton. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered ;  "  we  were  in  the  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  too  ;  that  is  to  say,  my  husband 
and  child  with  myself,  but  I  never  saw  any  of  the 
passengers.  I  remained  in  my  cabin  all  the  time 
we  were  at  sea." 

"  I  recollect  you,  now,"  he  said.  "  I  saw  Colonel 
Carleton  lift  you  and  your  child  into  A  boat  when 
our  ship  went  ashore." 

"  Were  you  acquainted  with  Colonel  Carleton?" 
she  inquired.  "  He  was  my  husband." 

"We  were  not  acquainted  until  we  met  on  board, 
but  during  the  several  weeks  we  were  at  sea  we 
passed  all  the  time  together.  You  say  he  was  your 
husband.  Is  it  possible  that  generous-hearted  man 
is  lost  ?" 

Mrs.    Carleton    made  an    inclination    with    her 
head. 

4* 


82  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"  Forgive  me,"  he  said,  "  my  conversation  has 
caused  you  pain." 

"Please  continue,"  she  replied,  "  tell  me  all  you 
know  about  him." 

"  I  witnessed  many  of  his  acts  of  kindness  dur 
ing  our  voyage,  and  received  kindness  from  him  at 
what  I  suppose  was  the  last  moment  of  his  life. 
The  boat  you  were  in  was  full  and  I  urged  him  to 
get  into  another  one,  but  he  refused,  saying,  '  I 
can  swim  and  you  cannot.'     At  the  same   moment 
he  took  hold  of  me  and  dropped  me  into  the  boat 
as  easily  as  if  I  were  a  child.       You  know  how 
tall  and  powerful  he  was.     The  next  instant  your 
boat  was  capsized  and  I  saw  Colonel  Carleton  leap 
into   the  sea  and   swim   toward  you.      His  hand 
was  almost  upon  your   arm,  when  an   enormous 
wave  swept  him  out  of  sight.      The    same  wave 
capsized  our  boat,  and  the  next  one  threw  me  into 
the  cove  below.      I  might  have  got  away  before, 
but  part  of  a  broken  mast  lay  across  my  chest  and 
I  was  entangled  hand  and  foot  by  the  rigging.     I 
could  neither  move  nor  call  aloud.     I  heard  voices 
more  than  once,  the  voices  of  ladies.     I  believe  it 
was  your  voice  and  that  of  your  friend,  for  I  never 
knew  my  ear  to  deceive  me.     I  saw  corpses  lying 
all  around  me.      The   tide   took   them    away  and 
brought  them  back  again  many  times  while  I  was 
there.      All  one  night  a  dead  hand  lay  across  my 
throat,  but  I  could  not  disengage  my  hands  to  re 
move  it.    I  had  no  fever ;  I  was  conscious  of  every 
thing.  The  tide  was  higher  than  usual  this  morning. 
It  lifted  the  mast  and  I  crawled  fromu  nder  it." 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  83 

He  appeared  to  suffer  much  from  exhaustion 
and  lay  down  again  upon  the  rugs,  and  closing  his 
eyes  remained  silent.  After  a  little  rest,  he  again 
sat  up  and  resumed  his  conversation  with  Mrs. 
Carleton. 

"I  have  a  great  love  of  music,"  he  began.  "  I 
left  the  colony  of  Virginia  with  the  intention  of 
going  to  London,  to  perfect  my  study  of  that 
divine  art,  under  the  direction  of  Orlando  Gibbons. 
He  is  very  young  to  be  a  composer,  but  he  is 
already  of  much  renown." 

For  some  time  he  continued  to  speak  fluently  on 
the  subject  of  music,  a  subject  of  which  the  ladies 
perceived  he  was  a  complete  master.  As  he  talked, 
he  became  full  of  enthusiasm,  and  that  wondrous 
light  which  belongs  to  genius  alone  illumined  his 
beautiful,  eyes  and  his  whole  soul  spoke  through 
them. 

"  Ah,  my  madrigals,"  said  he,  "  they  will  yet  be 
sung  to  His  Majesty,  King  James.  My  symphonies 
I  shall  submit  to  Orlando  Gibbons,  then  I  shall 
hear  them  played  by  a  full  orchestra,  the  world  will 
hear,  then  justice  will  be  accorded  to  me,  the  great 
masters  will  be  my  judges,  genius  such  as  theirs 
allows  them  to  be  generous  and  true  in  their 
opinions  of  other  men.  They  will  see  me  as  I  am. 
They  will  not  condemn  what  they  cannot  under 
stand.  They  will  not  call  my  life  useless,  because 
my  tastes,  my  talents  and  my  whole  being  compel 
me  to  be  different  from  those  among  whom  I  live. 
I  cannot  help  it,  and  I  would  not  if  I  could." 

An  expression  of  mental  pain   passed  over  his 


84  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

face  as  he  thus  proceeded.  "  Why  did  my  uncle 
call  my  life  and  my  work  useless  ?  It  is  hard  to 
be  misunderstood.  If  I  can  create  out  of  my  own 
brain  something  that  is  pure  and  beautiful,  that 
gives  happiness,  that  draws  coarse  natures  away 
from  their  coarseness,  to  feelings  more  elevated, 
that  can  bring  to  some  an  ecstacy  of  delight,  to 
others  a  sweet  calm.  If  I  follow  a  pursuit  which 
injures  no  human  being,  no  living  creature,  why 
am  I  to  endure  displeasure  ?  Is  it  more  manly, 
more  noble  to  hunt  the  poor,  panting  deer  till  it 
falls  gasping  on  the  ground,  and  then  to  save  it's 
life  for  the  purpose  of  chasing  it  again  for  sport  ? 
Is  it  more  noble  to  ride  races  till  the  horses  drop 
down  dead  ?  Tell  me,  do  such  pursuits  elevate  or 
brutalize  ? " 

Taking  a  roll  of  paper  from  his  breast,  he  handed 
it  to  Mrs.  Carleton,  saying,  "  I  have  a  symphony 
here  which  I  composed  since  I  left  my  home  ; 
would  you  like  to  look  at  it  ?  I  wish  my  twin 
brother  Ronald  could  see  this ;  he  understands  me, 
and  he  will  understand  my  music,  although  since 
his  accident,  his  hand  can  no  longer  obey  his  will ; 
yet  he  will  read  my  symphony,  aye,  more,  he  will 
play  it  in  his  soul.  With  it  you  will  find  a  song 
also,  the  words  and  music  are  both  mine  ;  when 
you  have  read  it,  will  you  hand  it  to  your  friend  ? " 

Mrs.  Carleton  took  the  roll  of  music  into  her 
hand,  but  observing  that  the  writing  was  almost 
obliterated  from  having  been  so  long  wet  with  sea 
water,  she  passed  it  to  Miss  Vyvyan,  who  sat  a 
little  farther  off,  desiring  to  spare  him  the  pain  of 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  85 

seeing  that  his  composition  was  destroyed.  The 
many  pages  of  music  were  entirely  illegible,  with 
the  exception  of  part  of  the  refrain  of  the  song, 
the  words  of  which  ran  thus  :  — 

Bury  me  deep, 

Where  the  surges  sweep, 

And  the  heaving  billows  moan. 

At  the  bottom  was  the  name  "  Ralph."  The  fol 
lowing  part  of  the  signature  was  destroyed. 

As  Anna  read  over  the  words  of  the  song,  she 
could  not  help  feeling  that  they  might  be  prophetic 
of  what  was  very  near.  She  folded  the  paper 
together  and  returned  it  to  him. 

"  Is  that  your  signature  ?"  she  asked. 

"  Yes,  that  is  my  name,"  he  replied.  "  Do  you 
like  music,"  he  continued. 

"  I  do,"  she  said. 

"  How  much  do  you  like  it  ?  " 

"  I  like  it  to  such  a  degree,"  she  replied,  "  that  I 
think  life  is  not  life  without  music." 

"  Ah,  that  is  what  I  think,"  he  said.  "  But  I  am 
exhausted.  Ladies,  will  you  pardon  me  if.  I  sleep 
a  little  while  ?  I  want  to  get  back  my  strength, 
that  I  may  be  able  to  wait  upon  you  both,  and 
make  all  the  return  in  my  power  for  your  great 
kindness  to  me." 

He  soon  fell  into  a  restless,  broken  sleep,  con 
stantly  murmuring  to  himself  incoherently. 

"  Anna,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  he  is  very  ill, 
and  it  is  almost  sunset,  and  quite  impossible  for  us 
to  take  him  up  to  the  castle.  We  must  make  some 
shelter  here  for  him  ;  the  breeze  already  comes  in 


86  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

from  the  sea  much  cooler,  and  the  night  will  be 
cold.  The  ladies  picked  up  loose  stones  and 
planks  and  everything  they  could  move,  and  formed 
a  low  wall  around  him,  making  a  place  of  shelter 
as  large  as  a  small  room.  They  then  drew  up  a 
portion  of  a  sail  and  laid  it  partially  across  for  a 
roof.  He  still  slept,  but  as  they  looked  at  him, 
they  saw  the  fever  was  rapidly  increasing  ;  a  still 
brighter  flush  was  on  his  cheeks ;  his  lips  were 
parched,  and  his  breathing  distressingly  short  and 
oppressed. 

"What  can  we  do  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Carleton.  "See 
there,  Anna !  The  sun  has  gone  behind  the  hill 
to  the  west  of  the  castle  ;  it  will  soon  be  dark.  It 
would  be  terrible  to  leave  him  here  to  perish,  for 
he  needs  great  care,  beside  the  wolves  may  come, 
and  he  is  too  ill  to  defend  himself.  Do  tell  me 
what  you  think  it  best  to  do  ? " 

"  One  of  us  must  watch  by  him  to-night,  Ada," 
replied  Miss  Vyvyan,  "  and  if  he  should  be  better 
to-morrow,  we  may  be  able  to  get  him  up  to  the 
castle.  I  must  be  the  one  to  watch.  Little  Cora 
could  not  pass  the  night  without  you,  and  even  if  she 
could,  you  are  not  well  enough  yet  to  be  out  in  the 
night  air.  Let  me  go  up  and  get  a  few  things  such 
as  he  may  require.  I  will  be  back  very  quickly." 

When  Miss  Vyvyan  entered  the  castle,  the  sun 
had  set,  and  a  dull  gray  hue  had  settled  upon 
every  room.  How  dreary  for  poor  Ada,  she 
thought  to  herself,  here  almost  alone,  with  the 
death  of  her  husband  so  recent,  and  so  vividly 
brought  before  her  to-day.  She  at  once  thought 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  87 

of  kindling  a  fire  as  the  only  means  she  had  of 
taking  away  some  of  the  gloominess  of  the  place. 
She  did  so,  and  then  spread  a  supper  table  as  tempt 
ingly  as  she  could  with  the  only  food  they  had  at 
command,  and  hastened  back  again  to  the  beach. 

"  He  still  sleeps,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  but  his 
fever  is  very  high.  It  distresses,  me  to  leave  you 
here,  Anna,  and  I  would  not,  but  for  little  Cora's 
sake." 

"  I  understand  you  "  replied  Anna^  "  I  shall  al 
ways  understand  you.  We  are  not  mistresses  of 
our  own  destiny ;  we  have  to  do  what  we  can,  not 
what  we  wish.  I  know  all  that  you  would  do  if 
you  could." 

As  Mrs.  Carleton  took  the  child  in  her  arms  and 
turned  her  steps  toward  the  castle,  the  moon  rose 
slowly  from  the  sea  and  made  a  long,  golden,  glim 
mering  path  from  the  horizon  to  the  shore.  It  was 
the  harvest  moon,  which  was  almost  at  the  full. 
The  night  was  light  and  still,  with  the  exception  of 
the  sound  of  the  waves,  which  broke  upon  the 
beach  below  in  one  long,  continuous  moan. 

Anna  watched  beside  her  charge,  sometimes 
moistening  his  parched  lips,  sometimes  arranging 
his  improvised  pillow,  and  listening  to  every  sound 
both  near  and  distant,  with  that  quick,  discriminat 
ing  sense  of  hearing  which  we  acquire  from 
watching  over  those  we  love,  and  which  she  had 
learned  during  the  last  illness  of  her  mother.  The 
night  was  now  far  advanced.  Close  beside  her 
came  the  quick,  hard  breathing,  and  the  indistinct 
murmuring  of  the  sufferer. 


88  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

From  down  below,  still  arose  the  mournful  tones 
of  the  heavily  rolling  waves,  and  from  the  forest 
came  the  howling  of  the  wolves,  but  she  could  hear 
they  were  not  near ;  and  resolved  if  they  should 
approach  to  scare  them  away,  by  setting  light  to 
a  pile  of  wood  which  Mrs.  Carleton  had  laid  to 
gether  for  that  purpose. 

As  she  sat  there  on  the  ground  and  realized  her 
situation,  a  feeling  almost  of  terror  came  over  her. 
During  the  past  few  years,  she  had  gone  through 
the  discipline  of  a  long  lifetime.  This  night,  the 
past  and  present  seemed  to  combine  to  crush  out 
the  remnant  of  courage  that  had  been  left  to  her. 
She  buried  her  face  in  her  hands  anclrocked  to  and 
fro,  struggling  with  her  feeling,  struggling  with  des 
tiny,  and  struggling  to  call  back  some  of  her  former 
self;  that  as  her  day,  so  her  strength  might  be. 

At  that  moment,  Ralph  awoke  ;  he  turned  his 
face  on  his  pillow,  and  regarding  her  with  great 
earnestness,  he  said,  "  Where  is  Ronald,  my  brother  ? 
I  want  him  here  now." 

Anna  went  nearer  to  him  and,  looking  at  the 
flushed  face  and  the  brilliant,  restless  eyes,  saw 
that  he  was  delirious. 

"  Ronald,"  he  repeated.     "  Are  you  there  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  he  is  near  you,"  said  Anna,  wishing 
to  solace  him. 

"That  is  well,"  he  answered.  "I  will  play  my 
new  composition  to  him." 

He  immediately  began  to  move  his  hands  over 
the  rugs  which  covered  him,  as  if  he  were  playing 
the  organ. 


BUCCANEER  DAYS  89 

"Ah,"  said  he,  "that  is  the  chord  I  sought, — 
thank^heaven.  —  Listen  to  this,. —  Hark,  hear  this 
resolution.  Now  do  you  see  what  that  chord  leads 
up  to  ? — How  is  that  harmonic  progression? — How 
does  this  sound  ? —  I  shall  have  a  double  suspen 
sion  there.  —  Ah,  that  is  good. —  Hark  ;  now  can 
you  hear  the  melody  running  through  the  minor  ? 
-  Yes,  the  violoncellos  come  in  there,  —  so  it  must 
be. —  More  ink  ;  quick,  quick, —  there  is  so  much 
to  write  and  so  little  time." 

He  sank  down  again,  exhausted,  and  fell  into  a 
deep  sleep.  After  an  hour  he  again  awoke,  the 
flush  had  left  his  cheek ;  he  was  very  calm,  and 
had  perfectly  regained  his  senses. 

"I  have  been  dreaming  of  my  brother  Ronald," 
he  said.  "  I  thought  he  was  here.  Can  you  tell 
me  what  time  it  is  ? " 

"I  think,"  replied  Anna,  "by  the  position  of 
the  moon,  it  must  be  an  hour  past  midnight." 

"  I  have  been  ill,"  he  said,  "  but  I  feel  better, 
much  better ;  almost  well  again.  I  want  to  thank 
you  ladies  for  so  much  kind  care  of  me ;  both  Mrs. 
Carleton  and  you,  but  I  do  not  know  what  to  call 
you.  I  did  not  hear  your  name." 

"  I  do  not  wish  you  to  thank  me  now,"  said 
Anna,  "  because  you  are  too  weak  to  talk  at  pres 
ent,  but  I  will  tell  you  my  name.  It  is  Anna 
Vyvyan." 

"  Vyvyan,"  he  repeated.  "  I  know  that  name  ; 
I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  to-morrow  —  I  feel  faint. 
— There  is  a  great  oppression  at  my  heart. — Those 


90  PEAK'S   iSLANt). 

timbers  crushed  my  chest.  —  I  cannot  breathe.  — 
Raise  me  up." 

Anna  knelt  on  the  ground  beside  him  and  raised 
him  up  as  he  desired. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  tired,  tired." 

The  next  moment  a  wonderful  far-away  look  of 
rapture  came  over  his  beautiful  face,  and  then  a 
pale  shadow  such  as  might  be  caused  by  the  pass 
ing  flight  of  a  bird  ;  —  his  head  fell  upon  her  shoul 
der  ;  —  he  was  dead.  Anna  laid  his  lifeless  body 
gently  down  and  watched  beside  it  through  the 
silent  hours  of  the  night,  gazing  from  time  to  time 
at  the  finely-formed  features.  They  had  a  fascina 
tion  for  her,  and  she  could  not  dispossess  her  mind 
of  the  thought  that  she  had  seen  them  before. 

The  first  few  streaks  of  dawn  came  creeping 
over  land  and  sea,  and  the  sun  arose  and  shed  a 
shimmering  light  on  the  surrounding  islands,  the 
forest  and  the  misty  mountain  tops.  With  day 
light,  the  howling  of  the  wolves  ceased,  and  the 
only  signs  of  life  were  the  sea  gulls  that  floated 
about  near  the  shore  or  ran  screaming  along  the 
beach  devouring  their  prey,  and  a  pair  of  eagles 
which  constantly  hovered  near  and  swooped  down 
close  to  where  the  dead  man  was  lying.  Anna 
covered  the  cold,  pale  face  and  went  nearer  to 
protect  it  from  any  attack. 

The  sun  had  not  long  risen  when  Mrs.  Carleton 
with  little  Cora  left  the  castle. 

Anna  heard  their  voices,  and  went  to  meet  them. 
"  I  must  be  careful  how  I  speak,"  she  said,  address 
ing  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  for  I  feel  sure  Cora  under- 


feUCCANEER  DAYS.  9l 

stands  much  more  than  she  can  find  language  to 
express,  but  I  have  to  tell  you  that  ever  since 
about  an  hour  after  midnight  I  have  been  all  alone. 
He  sleeps." 

The  ladies  gave  the  child  some  shells  to  play 
with,  and  went  to  where  his  body  lay.  They  drew 
the  sail  over  the  low  wall  which  they  had  made 
around  him  and  completely  covered  in  the  little 
room. 

"  That  will  keep  any  eagles  or  wolves  away  while 
daylight  lasts,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "but  we  must 
bury  the  poor  fellow's  body  before  night.  The 
thought  of  having  it  devoured  or  mutilated  when 
it  is  in  our  power  to  prevent  it,  is  more  than  either 
of  us  could  bear,  for  in  addition  to  the  forlorn 
state  that  we  found  him  in,  his  genius  and  his  gen 
tle  breeding  made  both  of  us  take  an  interest  in 
him.  Beside,  his  being  a  Virginian,  and  the  last 
person  to  speak  with  Dudley,  gave  him  a  claim  on 
my  friendship." 

They  went  up  to  the  castle  and  did  not  return 
until  just  before  sunset,  when  they  brought  with 
them  many  beautiful  wild  flowers,  which,  as  we 
have  said,  abounded  on  the  island.  They  also 
gathered  branches  of  the  fragrant  fir  balsam,  with 
which  they  lined  the  fissure  in  the  rock  on  which 
Ralph's  body  was  lying.  Folding  around  the 
latter  a  robe  of  rich  brocade,  they  lowered  it  ten 
derly  into  the  tomb  that  nature  had  wrought.  As 
Anna  laid  the  face  cloth  over  the  marble  features, 
she  started  back.  The  resemblance  which  had  at 
tracted  and  held  her  attention  during  the  night, 


92  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

had  come  out  vividly  since  the  morning.  The 
likeness  was  to  her  own  mother,  and  was  as  marked 
as  if  Ralph  had  been  her  son.  They  covered  his 
silken  winding-sheet  with  flowers  until  the  sepul 
chre  was  filled,  then  they  laid  flat  stones  across 
his  resting  place,  and  began  to  build  a  cairn  over 
all.  They  continued  building  until  the  sun  went 
down,  little  Cora  bringing  stones  in  her  baby 
hands  and  placing  them  with  the  same  precision 
that  she  saw  her  mother  and  Miss  Vyvyan  were 
doing. 

"  We  have  made  everything  secure  now,  Anna," 
said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "but  we  will  come  again  to 
morrow  and  add  more  stones  to  the  cairn,  and 
every  time  we  come  to  the  beach  we  will  do  the 
same.  Will  you  take  charge  of  the  manuscript  ? 
We  do  not  know  what  the  future  may  bring.  He 
wished  his  brother  Ronald  to  see  it,  and  we  may, 
perhaps,  some  day  have  it  in  our  power  to  carry 
out  his  wish.  Now  we  will  go  back  to  the  castle, 
for  I  see  you  are  in  great  need  of  rest." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Disdain  and  scorn  ride  sparkling  in  her  eyes, 

Misprising  what  they  look  on 

to  her 

All  matter  else  seems  weak ;  she  cannot  love, 
Nor  take  no  shape  nor  project  of  affection, 

She  is  so  self-endeared. 

maple  leaves  had  turned  from  rose  and 
crimson  to  orange,  then  to  pale  yellow  and 
to  brown,  and  had  fallen  to  the  earth,  for 
it  was  now  almost  Christmas,  but  no  snow 
was  as  yet  on  the  ground.  The  ladies  had  made 
all  the  rooms  which  they  occupied  in  the  tower 
very  comfortable  and  homelike,  although  they  could 
neither  of  them  bring  themselves  to  speak  of  the 
place  by  the  name  of  home,  for  that  was  a  sacred 
•word  to  both  of  them.  They  always  spoke  of 
their  dwelling-place  as  the  castle.  We  have 
already  said  that  the  views  from  every  room  in  the 
tower  were  of  exceeding  loveliness.  .Most  of  the 
windows  overlooked  the  islands,  many  of  which 
were  far  away,  others  perhaps  only  two  or  three 
miles  off.  At  one  time,  their  beauty  would  be 
softened  and  half  obscured  by  mist,  at  another 
they  would  appear  to  be  lifted  up  into  the  sky  by 
the  effect  of  the  mirage.  At  times  a  heavy  sea 
fog  hung  over  the  island  and  obscured  every  dis 
tant  object,  and  to  the  nearer  ones  gave  a  weird 
and  spectral  look. 


94  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

Just  at  daylight  one  morning,  when  the  fog  was 
coming  in  from  the  ocean,  the  ladies  were  awakened 
by  the  lowing  of  cattle.  On  looking  down  from 
the  tower  windows,  they  saw  some  cows  come  out 
from  under  the  trees  and  pass  along  close  to  the 
walls  of  the  building.  They  scarcely  had  time  to 
express  their  surprise  to  each  other,  before  it  was 
much  heightened  by  the  appearance  of  a  woman, 
who  followed  the  animals  out  of  the  forest  and 
drove  them  quickly  across  the  grass  which  had 
formerly  been  the  courtyard  of  the  castle,  to  a 
high  mound  a  little  way  to  the  north  of  it,  there 
both  she  and  the  cattle  disappeared  in  the  fog  and 
among  a  thick  growth  of  spruces.  The  woman's 
movements  were  quick  and  firm,  and  she  stepped 
as  one  who  not  only  possessed  determination,  but 
defiance  also.  She  was  tall  and  guant  and  bony, 
possibly  not  fifty  years  old,  but  her  hair  which  hung 
loose  in  disheveled  entanglement,  was  as  white  as 
if  she  were  eighty.  She  had  large  black  eyes  • 
that  flashed  upon  every  object  that  she  looked  at. 
She  wore  a  red  dress,  which  reached  only  a  little 
below  her  knees.  On  her  feet  she  had  a  pair  of 
heavy,  high  boots,  such  as  are  worn  by  cavalry 
soldiers.  Her  head  was  partially  covered  by  an 
old  cotton  handkerchief  which  had  once  been  of 
many  bright  colors. 

"  Did  you*hear  what  language  she  spoke,"  said 
Miss  Vyvyan  ? 

"  I  caught  the  sound  of  a  few  words  somewhat 
like  Italian,  but  it  was  not  Italian." 

"  I  heard  it,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton.     "  I  believe  ' 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  95 

it  was  Spanish,  but  she  passed  so  quickly  I  could 
not  hear  distinctly,  or  I  should  have  understood 
her." 

All  that  day  the  ladies  remained  in  doors.  They 
watched  in  the  direction  of  the  mound,  but  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  which  would  lead  them  to  suppose 
that  any  dwelling  was  near  to  them  ;  and  so  the 
time  passed  until  night  covered  the  island  with 
darkness.  They  had  put  little  Cora  to  bed,  and 
were,  according  to  their  usual  habit,  sitting  beside 
her  in  Mrs.  Carleton's  room.  The  night  was  un 
usually  cold.  It  seemed  as  if  winter  had  really 
sent  in  its  heralds  in  advance,  to  announce  its  near 
approach.  The  wind  howled  and  shrieked  through 
the  rooms  which  surrounded  them  up  stairs,  and 
groaned  and  roared  in  the  many  passages  and 
apartments  down  below.  Their  glowing  log  fire 
was  so  acceptable  to  them,  that  they  were  loth  to 
leave  it,  and  so  they  sat  talking  together  until 
midnight.  They  had  gained  a  very  good  idea  of 
time  by  observing  the  sun  and  moon,  and  were 
also  greatly  aided  by  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide. 
They  knew  exactly  the  high-water  mark,  by  certain 
rocks  ;  they  knew  that  it  took  so  many  hours  to 
ebb  and  so  many  to  flow,  and  they  had  become  so 
familiar  with  the  sound  of  the  outgoing  and  in 
coming  tide,  that  even  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
they  did  not  feel  at  a  loss. 

"  It  is  past  midnight,  Anna,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton, 
going  to  one  of  the  windows  and  leaning  out  to 
listen,  ''The  tide  has  just  turned.  Come  here," 


96  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

she  continued.     "What  is  that  rising  above  the 
mound  ? " 

"  Sparks  of  fire  and  wood  smoke,"  replied  Miss 
Vyvyan.  "There  must  be  a  dwelling  of  some 
kind  there.  That  is  probably  where  the  woman 
went  to  with  the  cows,  but  it  is  strange  that  we 
have  never  seen  anything  of  it  before  to-night. 

The  intense  cold  of  the  next  day  warned  the 
ladies  that  they  must  use  dispatch  in  finishing 
their  arrangements,  in  order  to  be  able  to  meet  the 
exigencies  that  a  severe  winter  night  might  bring 
upon  them.  During  the  two  months  they  had 
been  living  in  the  castle,  they  had  employed  them 
selves  continually  in  bringing  in  supplies  of  all 
kinds,  until  they  felt  they  had  ample  stores  to  last 
them  for  a  very  long  time,  but  they  were  all  in  the 
rooms  down  stairs  ;  and  as  the  distance  from  the 
tower  was  so  great,  and  the  weather  so  severe, 
they  decided  to  make  a  storeroom  up  stairs,  on  the 
same  floor  as  that  on  which  they  lived.  They  had 
been  busy  for  some  time,  packing  and  carrying  up 
their  requirements,  little  Cora,  as  usual,  just  as 
active  as  themselves,  taking  up  her  loads  and 
returning  for  more ;  her  tiny  feet  pattering  up  and 
down  the  long,  stone  staircase,  flitting  back  and 
forth  between  her  mother  and  Anna,  with  her  own 
peculiar,  light,  swift,  graceful  movement,  which 
was  like  that  of  a  bird. 

All  at  once,  they  each  missed  the  return  of  the 
child  ;  but  as  the  ladies  were  in  separate  parts  of 
the  castle,  they  each  of  them  thought  she  had  re 
mained  with  the  other.  After  some  time  had 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  97 

elapsed,    they  began    to   feel    anxious,   and    each 
sought  the  other.     . 

Meeting  on  the  stairs,  the  question  "  Where  is 
Cora  ?  "  came  from  the  lips  of  each  of  them  at  the 
same  moment ;  then  a  hurried  explanation,  and  a 
terrible  feeling  of  horror.  They  ran  in  every  di 
rection,  calling  her  name.  They  separated  and 
went  different  ways ;  they  met  again  and  went  in 
search  of  her  together.  Could  it  be  possible  that 
she  had  gone  up  the  watch  tower,  and  fallen  from 
the  battlements.  They  flew  up  the  tower  stairs 
and  looked  over.  They  rushed  down  again  and 
out  into  the  court  yard  ;  no  sound,  no  sign  of  the 
child.  In  the  agony  of  their  distress,  they  went 
into  every  room  and  opened  every  great  chest, 
every  large  piece  of  furniture. 

"Oh  Anna,"  cried  Mrs.  Carleton,  "that  woman 
we  saw,  do  you  think  she  has  stolen  my  child  ;  per 
haps  put  her  to  death.  We  must  go  to  the  mound 
where  we  saw  her  go." 

They  followed  the  tracks  of  the  cattle,  and 
pushed  their  way  through  the  trees  for  a  short  dis 
tance,  till  they  came  to  the  almost  bare  mound ;  it 
was  high  and  long ;  near  the  base  was  an  opening 
Qf  irregular  shape,  which  was  evidently  the  en 
trance,  but  it  was  partly  closed  by  an  old,  broken 
door.  They  had  gone  within  a  few  feet  of  it, 
when  the  door  was  violently  thrown  down,  and  the 
gaunt  woman  in  the  same  strange  dress  stood  in 
the  doorway,  brandishing  a  rusty  sword  at  them, 
and  speaking  rapidly  in  a  peculiarly  harsh  and  high 
pitched  voice.  She  spoke  in  Spanish,  which  Mrs. 
5 


98  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

Carleton  perfectly  understood,  and  which  she,  also, 
spoke  fluently. 

"Go  hence,"  said  the  woman.  "What  seek  you 
here  ?  I  am  Louisita,  and  all  that  you  see  here  is 
mine ;  my  land,  my  trees,  my  seashore  ;  hence  I 
say,  away  with  you,  or  this  sword  pierces  the  heart 
of  both." 

"  Pray,  hear  me  one  moment,"  pleaded  Mrs. 
Carleton,  "  I  am  in  the  greatest  distress." 

What  care  I  for  your  distress,  have  I  not  enough 
of  my  own  without  listening  to  yours  ?  Off  with 
you." 

"Only  a  few  words,"  again  entreated  Mrs.  Carle- 
ton.  "  I  want  to  —  " 

"  You  may  want,  I  heed  that  not.  I  want  my 
self;  I  have  nothing  to  give  you.  I  would  not  give 
you  anything,  if  I  had  it.  You  are  intruders  on 
this  island.  I  saw  you  arrive,  and  the  men  you 
brought  with  you.  Ha !  ha  !  You  meant  them 
to  land  here.  Where  are  they  now  ?  I  saw  it  all, 
ha !  ha  !  ha  !  You  may  wait  for  their  return  ;  they 
have  made  a  long  voyage,  so  long  that  they  will 
never  come  back ;  glad,  glad,  I  hate  the  accursed 
sex,  they  caused  all  my  suffering  ;  twenty  years 
entombed  here,  through  their  state  of  mad  intoxu 
cation.  If  only  one  of  that  great  band  of  pirates 
had  remained  sober,  I  might  have  got  away." 

"Do  let  me  ask  you,  have  you  seen  my  child  ?  " 
said  Mrs.  Carleton.  "  I  entreat  you  to  tell  me." 

"  See  your  child.  I  saw  you  take  food  to  one  of 
the  accursed  sex.  I  saw  you  try  to  make  him  live. 
I  despise  you  for  it.  Why  should  he  live  to  drink, 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  99 

drink,  and  bring  misery  on  me  and  all  women  ?  I 
tell  you  again  I  hate  them  for  their  love  of  drink. 
I  hold  them  in  contempt  for  their  weakness.  The 
ocean  did  well  to  swallow  them  down,  just  as  their 
brothers  swallowed  down  the  fiery  drink  on  that 
fearful  night  when  the  great  tower  fell  and  crushed  a 
hundred  of  them." 

"  Do,  I  implore  you,  say  if  my  child  strayed  any 
where  in  your  sight  ? "  cried  Mrs.  Carleton,  over 
come  with  anguish.  "We  have  lost  her." 

"Lost  her;  lost  her;  seen  her;"  echoed  Louisita 
very  slowly,  and  making  a  long  pause  as  if  to  col 
lect  her  thoughts,  she  added,  "The  child  was 
young  and  the  wolf  was  hungry." 

As  Mrs.  Carleton  translated  the  last  sentence  to 
Miss  Vyvyan,  she  fell  fainting  into  Anna's  arms. 

"Do  not  heed  what  she  says,  dear  Ada;  let  us 
believe  the  best  until  we  know  the  worst.  Cora 
may  have  faflen  asleep  in  some  of  the  nooks  in 
the  building,  and  so  did  not  hear  us  call  her." 

The  ladies  returned  to  the  castle.  Miss  Vyvyan 
was  also  under  the  most  intense  apprehension,  but 
she  concealed  her  feelings  from  Mrs.  Carleton. 

"  Which  room  were  you  in,  Ada,  when  you 
missed  Cora  ?  She  may,  as  I  said,  be  asleep,  and 
perhaps  she  is  among  some  of  the  bales  in  one  of 
the  storerooms." 

"  I  was  down  at  the  end  of  the  passage,"  replied 
Mrs.  Carleton,  "  in  the  largest  room.  We  will  go 
there  first." 

They  went  clown  and  searched  the  room,  but 
could  not  find  Cora.  As  they  came  out  of  it  they 


100  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

heard  a  sound  which  seemed  to  come  from  under 
ground.  They  ran  to  the  half-dark  stairway  which 
they  had  seen  when  they  blocked  up  the  north 
door.  The  sound  was  more  distinct;  it  was  Cora's 
voice  in  conversation.  Who  could  have  taken  her 
down  to  that  subterranean  place  ?  They  did  not 
hesitate  an  instant,  but  descended  the  stairs  as 
quickly  as  the  darkness  would  admit,  and  found 
themselves  in  a  dungeon  where  there  was  just  suf 
ficient  light  to  see  that  an  uncovered  well  was 
close  beside  the  path  which  they  were  following. 
The  talking  had  ceased.  The  silence  was  pro 
found  and  added  still  greater  gloom  to  the  place. 
They  both  stood  bending  over  the  well  and  looking 
down  into  the  depth  of  water  which  was  black  and 
silent.  They  each  looked  at  the  other.  They  read 
the  thoughts  which  passed  through  each  other's 
mind.  They  neither  of  them  spoke.  They  did 
not  dare  to.  While  they  still  stood  bending  over 
the  well,  straining  both  eyes  and  ears  to  the  ut 
most,  little  Cora's  voice  came  again.  It  seemed 
close  to  them  ;  they  could  not  distinguish  any 
words,  but  the  tones  were  those  of  her  usual  pretty 
baby  prattle.  Was  that  voice  from  the  spirit  land  ? 
They  could  see  nothing  but  the  gray  stone  walls 
of  the  dungeon,  the  dark,  open  well  and  some  large, 
loose  stones,  which  had  heavy  iron  chains  with 
rings  attached  to  them,  and  which  had  in  former 
years  been  fastened  to  the  ankles  of  the  prisoners 
and  worn  by  them  till  death  relieved  them  of  their 
burden.  Just  in  the  same  way  as  many  of  the  poor 
victims  of  imperial  tyranny  are  to-day  doomed  to 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  101 

drag  their  chains  and  weights  while  they  labor  in 
the  mines  of  Siberia.    '  Again  came  Cora's  voice 
as   if    from   the   further   corner  of    the  dungeon. 
The  ladies  stumbled  among  the  loose  stones  in  the 
semi-darkness,  Anna,  who  was  more    robust   and 
the  taller  of  the  two,  folding  her  arms  around  Mrs. 
Carleton  to  support  her,  and  both  of  them  feeling 
their  way  lest  they  should  fall  into  any  other  well 
or  excavation.     Arrived  at  the  corner  they  saw  a 
gleam  of  light,  which  came  in  a  slanting  direction 
through  a  large  hole  in  the  wall.     They  still  heard 
the  little  voice  and  determined  to  follow  it.     The 
hole  would  only  admit  of  their  crawling  in  on  their 
hands  and  knees.     This  they  did  for  several  yards, 
until  everything  was  in    complete  darkness,   and 
they  found  they  were  against  a  wall   straight    in 
front  of  them,    and    could   go    no   further.      The 
passage  was  too  narrow  for    them  to  turn  round 
and  come  out,  the  top  of  it  was  so  low  it  nearly 
touched  their  heads  as  they  crawled  along.     The 
air  was  oppressive,    and  suffocation  almost    over 
powered  them,  but  they  could  still  hear   the  voice 
which  seemed  nearer.     Feeling  the  walls  carefully 
with  their  hands,  they  found  that   a  sharp  turn  to 
the  right,  led  along  in  a  direct    line   toward  the 
sound.     This  passage  was  also  dark,  and  as  narrow 
almost  as  a  coffin.     They  continued    crawling   for 
several  yards  more,  sometime  cutting    their   arms 
with  the  broken  stones  which  covered  the  bottom, 
and  sometimes    placing  one  of  their  hands    upon 
some  cold  substance  which  moved  and  felt  as  if  it 
might    be    a  lizard  or    a    sleeping   snake.     They 


102  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

neither  called  nor  spoke,  for  they  feared  someone 
might  have  the  child,  who  would  run  away  with 
her,  if  warned  of  their  approach,  so  they  deter 
mined  to  come  upon  them  suddenly.  They  were 
greatly  exhausted,  but  they  struggled  on. 

At  length  daylight  appeared  at  the  end  of  the 
subterranean  passage,  and  in  another  moment  they 
emerged  from  it  and  stood  in  a  large  stone  hall, 
amply  lighted  from  above  by  open  iron  gratings 
and  loopholes  in  the  walls  ;  through  one  of  the 
latter,  a  bright  gleam  of  light  fell  like  a  halo  upon 
the  sweet,  fair  face  and  the  golden  head  of  the 
child,  who  was  sitting  on  the  floor,  with  a  portion 
of  her  little  white  dress  folded  around  a  kitten, 
which  she  was  rocking  in  her  arms  and  talking  to. 
Happy  as  was  her  wont  and  all  unconscious  of  the 
flight  of  time  and  the  anxiety  that  she  had  caused, 
she  seemed  to  have  made  some  little  exploration 
of  her  own  since  she  had  been  there  and  wanted 
to  show  her  discovery,  just  the  same  as  Mrs. 
Carleton  and  Miss  Vyvyan  were  always  doing  to 
one  another. 

"  Come,"  said  she,  getting  up  from  the  floor  and 
taking  her  mother's  hand,  "  funny  sing  down  dare ; 
Anna  too,"  she  continued,  and  stretching  out  her 
other  hand,  she  caught  hold  of  the  folds  of  Miss 
Vyvyan's  dress,  and  drew  her  along  also,  leading 
them  both  across  the  hall  to  a  large  gate  of  iron 
bars.  It  was  locked,  and  closed  the  entrance  to  a 
broad  stone  passage. 

"  Down  dare,  funny  sing,"  she  went  on,  pointing 
to  a  skeleton,  which  lay  just  inside,  and  so  near  to 


BUCCANEER   DAYS  103 

the  gate  that  one  hand  had  been  thrust  out  between 
the  bars  and  the  bones  of  it  were  lying  close  to 
their  feet.  A  great  quantity  of  long  black  hair 
still  remained  about  the  skull,  in  the  midst  of 
which  was  a  Mexican  ear-ring  of  elaborate  work 
manship.  Everything  told  them  that  the  skeleton 
was  that  of  a  woman.  Glancing  round  the  hall, 
the  ladies  could  not  see  any  door.  How  did  Cora 
get  there  ?  Before  they  had  time  to  inquire,  little 
Cora  saw  something  inside  the  gate,  and  with  her 
usual  quick  movement,  she  swiftly  passed  her  tiny 
hand  between  the  closely  placed  iron  bars  and  from 
a  small  heap  of  debris  of  finger  bones,  drew  out  a 
richly  chased  gold  ring,  inscribed  with  the  name 
of  "  Inez  ; "  set  in  it  was  a  large  ruby  in  the  form 
of  a  heart. 

The  child  who  possessed  as  part  of  her  inheri 
tance  a  fine,  sensitive  instinct,  looking  at  her 
mother,  observed  that  her  long  silken  eyelashes 
were  wet  with  tears,  and  that  traces  of  recent 
mental  agony  lingered  on  her  face.  In  an  instant, 
the  dear  little  soul  strove  to  comfort  and  cheer, 
after  the  manner  sp  often  employed  by  each  of  her 
guardians  toward  herself.  Holding  up  the  ring 
in  one  hand,  and  clinging  round  her  mother  with 
the  other,  she  said, 

"  See ,  mama,  Cora,  dot  pitty  sing  for  mama. 
Don't  ky,  don't  ky,  Cora  loves  mama." 

"  Sweet  child,"  exclaimed  Anna,  taking  her  up 
into  her  arms  and  holding  her  to  her  heart.  "  Sweet 
child,  more  precious  to  us  every  day,  for  each  one 
reveals  some  new  beauty  of  character,  some  still 


104  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

more  lovable  trait.  Come,  dear  Ada,  come  away," 
she  continued.  "  I  will  carry  Cora.  How  did  my 
little  godchild  come  here  ?"  she  said,  addressing 
the  little  one  in  her  arms. 

"  Kitta  doe,"  answered  Cora. 

"  Yes  darling,  where  did  kitta  go  ?  " 

"By  dare,"  said  the  child,  pointing  to  a  massive 
column,  one  side  of  which  was  built  close  to  the 
wall  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  placed  there 
as  a  support,  but  was  in  reality  to  conceal  a  door 
way  which  led  to  a  flight  of  stairs  between  two 
walls. 

The  ladies  went  up,  Miss  Vyvyan  carrying  Cora. 
They  soon  found  themselves  in  one  of  the  rooms 
which  was  nearly  filled  with  firearms  and  other 
implements  of  warfare.  The  entrance  to  it  at  the 
top  of  the  stairs  was  concealed  in  the  same  man 
ner  as  the  doorway  below,  and  but  for  Cora  fol 
lowing  the  little  white  kitten,  the  ladies  might  have 
lived  many  years  in  the  castle  and  never  have  seen 
it.  The  subterranean  passage  into  which  they 
accidentally  crawled,  had  been  made  for  a  place  of 
concealment  in  case  of  a  sudden-  attack  upon  the 
castle. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest  when  summer  is  green, 
That  host  with  their  banners  at  sunset  was  seen : 
Like  the  leaves  of  the  forest  when  autumn  hath  blown, 
That  host  on  the  morrow  lay  withered  and  strown. 

For  the  Angel  of  Death  spread  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
And  breathed  in  the  face  of  the  foe  as  he  passed; 
And  the  eyes  of  the  sleepers  waxed  deadly  and  chill, 
And  their  hearts  but  once  heaved  and  forever  grew  still. 

And  the  idols  are  broke  in  the  temple  of  Baal ; 
And  the  might  of  the  Gentile  unsmote  by  the  sword, 
Hath  melted  like  snow  in  the  glance  of  the  Lord  I 

sHRISTMAS  had  come  and  gone,  and  the 
snow  was  lying  deep  on  the  ground. 
They  had  seen  nothing  of  Louisita  since 
the  day  Cora  was  lost. 
"  I  wonder,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  how  that  poor 
woman,  Louisita,  exists  ?  for  I  think  from  what  I 
saw  the  day  we  went  to  her,  that  she  is  all  alone, 
and  if  you  recollect,  she  said  something  to  that 
effect.  I  fear  she  suffers  in  this  cold  weather. 
You  saw,  of  course,  that  it  was  no  kind  of  a  house 
that  she  came  out  of." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Miss  Vyvyan,  "  it  appeared  to  be 
only  a  mound  of  earth. 

"  I  want  to  take  her  some  food,"  continued  Mrs. 
Carleton.       "  Do     you     think   we   can   get    there 
through  the  snow  ? " 
5* 


106  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

"  I  can  carry  Cora,"  replied  Miss  Vyvyan,  "if 
you  can  take  the  food." 

Mrs.  Carleton  filled  a  box  with  both  food  and 
fruit,  and  the  ladies,  with  little  Cora,  went  forth  to 
visit  Louisita. 

She  met  them  in  the  same  manner  as  before, 
not  allowing  them  to  come  very  near  to  the  open 
ing,  and  brandishing  the  old  sword. 

"  If  that  child  were  one  of  the  accursed  sex," 
she  said,  with  a  malicious  look,  "  I  would  sever  its 
head  from  its  body." 

The  child  could  not,  of  course,  understand  her 
language,  but  she  read  the  look,  and  clasping  her 
arms  closely  around  Anna's  neck,  she  buried  her 
face  on  her  shoulder. 

"  Will  you  accept  of  this? "  said  Mrs.  Carleton, 
speaking  very  gently,  and  at  the  same  time  lifting 
the  lid  of  the  box. 

Louisita  sprang  at  the  contents  as  a  famished 
tigress  might  have  sprung  upon  some  long-sought 
prey.  Jerking  the  box  out  of  Mrs.  Carleton's 
hands,  she  put  it  on  the  ground,  and  again  raised 
her  sword.  "  Hence,"  she  cried,  "  all  of  you  ;  no 
one  enters  here.  Ha,  what  do  I  see;  stop,  stop," 
she  screamed.  "  Donna  Inez,  my  lady,  Donna 
Inez.  Where  did  you  get  that  ring,"  she  con 
tinued,  pointing  to  Mrs.  Carleton's  finger,  on  which 
she  wore  the  ring  that  Cora  had  found.  "That  is 
the  ring  Donna  Inez  wore  the  night  they  mur 
dered  her.  Yes,  the  accursed  sex  murdered  her, 
the  night  they  drank  out  of  the  skulls  till  they 
were  all  mad,  mad,  and  the  great  tower  fell  upon 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  107 

them  ;  ha,  ha,  ha.  Who  will  drink  out  of  their 
skulls  when  they  find  them  ?  More  of  the  accursed 
sex,  they  who  make  laws  to  command  women,  and 
who  cannot  command  themselves.  Away  with 
you.  I  tell  you  to  go,  you  are  intruders." 

"  I  fear  your  dress  is  not  warm  enough,"  said 
Mrs.  Carleton.  "  You  must  suffer  from  the  cold." 

"  Suffer,"  shrieked  Louisita,  "  I  have  known 
nothing  else  than  suffering  for  twenty  winters  and 
summers,  and  they  the  accursed  sex  caused  it  all 
by  their  passion  for  the  fiery  cup  ;  it  soddened 
their  brains  ;  it  poisoned  every  good  feeling  in 
their  hearts.  It  buried  my  husband  under  the 
ruins  of  the  tower ;  it  bereft  me  of  my  home ;  it 
caused  my  two  babes  to  die  of  cold  and  hunger  in 
this  tomb." 

"  Poor  Louisita,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  if  you 
will  come  back  with  us  to  the  castle  I  will  find 
some  warm  dresses  and  other  comforts  for  you." 

"Never,"  she  replied;  "ft  is  haunted.  I  have 
not  been  into  it  since  I  came  away  with  my  babes 
the  morning  after  the  tower  fell." 

"  Why  do  you  think  it  is  haunted  ?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Carleton. 

"  I  know  it  is  because  I  hear  them  shrieking  in 
the  night,  and  I  hear  Donna  Inez  calling,  "  Open 
the  gate." 

"I  will  not  ask  you  to  come  inside,  Louisita, 
but  if  you  will  only  come  up  the  outside  steps  to 
the  door  I  will  get  you  anything  you  wish  for." 

"I  want  food;  I  want  warm  clothes;  I  want 
something  to  cover  my  bed." 


108  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"You  shall  have  it,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton.  "I 
feel  very  sorry  for  you ;  I  wish  to  make  you 
happy." 

"Ha!  ha!  happy,"  she  repeated.  Then  looking 
toward  Miss  Vyvyan  she  continued,  "  Make  her 
take  that  child  out  of  my  sight.  She  brings  it 
here  to  mock  me.  I  will  run  my  sword  through  her 
heart  if  ever  she  brings  that  child  here  again." 

"She  does  not  bring  my  child  here  to  mock 
you,  Louisita.  She  is  my  friend,  and  loves  my 
child,  and  we  could  not  leave  it  alone.  My  friend 
always  goes  where  I  go,  for  fear  anything  might 
befall  me.  She  cannot  speak  Spanish  or  she 
would  explain  all  to  you." 

"Go  away  with  you,"  said  Louisita;  "go  get 
the  things  for  me.  I  will  come  for  them  when  I 
am  ready,  but  I  will  not  put  my  foot  over  the  door 
sill." 

"All  things  considered,  Ada,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan, 
"  I  think  it  is  well  that  Louisita  is  afraid  to  go  into 
the  castle,  for  she  appears  to  be  of  a  spiteful  nature, 
and  might  try  to  do  Cora  some  harm,  but  we  will 
never  again  let  the  child  be  out  of  sight." 

Mrs.  Carleton  prepared  for  Louisita's  arrival  by 
placing  a  number  of  things  of  all  kinds  in  the  hall 
near  to  the  entrance  which  the  ladies  used.  In 
a  little  while  she  came,  still  in  the  same  short  red 
gown  and  cavalry  boots,  bearing  the  old  sword  in 
her  hand. 

"Where  are  my  things  ?"  she  demanded  of  Mrs. 
Carleton,  speaking  in  the  same  defiant  tone  as 
usual.  "  Bring  them  here  to  the  door.  I  told  you 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  109 

I  would  not  enter.  That  belonged  to  Donna  Inez," 
she  said,  taking  up  a  dress,  "and  that  was  Don 
Alphonzo's,"  seizing  hold  of  the  -red  velvet  cloak 
which  the  ladies  had  found  in  the  library. 

"Wrap  the  cloak  about  your  shoulders,  Louis- 
ita,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton ;  "it  will  keep  you  warm." 

"  I  will  not,"  she  answered,  fiercely ;  "  it  belonged 
to  one  of  the  accursed  sex ;  he  died  through  drink 
ing  of  the  fiery  cup;  he  caused  the  death  of  many 
through  the  same  thing." 

"Perhaps  you  will  wear  this,  Louisita,"said  Mrs. 
Carleton,  offering  her  one  of  the  best  and  warmest 
table  covers  that  she  and  Miss  Vyvyan  had  brought 
from  the  wreck. 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  "  I  will ;  "  give  me  another  for 
my  bed." 

"  Let  me  go,  Ada,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan,  who  had 
hitherto  been  standing  far  back  in  the  hall  with 
Cora.  "  I  know  where  we  put  one  that  will  please 
her,  for  I  see  that  she  likes  red,"  and  taking  Cora 
up  in  her  arms  she  disappeared. 

"  Why  does  she  take  that  child  everywhere," 
asked  Louisita. 

"  I  told  you  just  now,"  replied  Mrs.  Carleton, 
"  that  my  friend  loves  my  child,  and  they  are 
always  happy  together." 

"  Does  she  think  she  is  happy  ?  "  said  Louisita, 
"  what  a  fool  she  must  be ;  she  is  not  happy,  you 
are  not  happy,  I  am  not  happy.  Oh,  the  fool,  she 
has  not  sense  enough  to  know  that  she  is  not 
happy." 

Just  at  this  junction  Miss  Vyvyan  returned  with 


HO  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

Cora  on  one  arm,  and  the  other  one  loaded  with 
warm,  bright-colored  articles,  such  as  she  felt  sure 
Louisita  would  like.  As  she  approached  the  door, 
where  the  woman  stood,  and  passed  the  things  to 
Mrs.  Carleton,  the  child  again  clung  tightly  as 
before  to  Anna,  who  hastily  went  back  to  the  end 
of  the  hall. 

"  Tell  the  fool  to  go  away  out  of  my  sight  with 
that  child,"  said  Louisita,  "  and  I  will  tell  you 
about  this  place.  I  will  not  tell  her  because  she 
mocks  me  by  bringing  the  child  to  remind  me  of 
my  dead  babes — my  babes  who  were  famished  to 
death." 

Miss  Vyvyan  went  to  the  green  parlor  with 
little  Cora,  and  Louisita  began  her  narrative. 

"  I  was  born  in  Spain.  When  I  was  a  young 
woman,  Donna  Inez  was  married  to  Don  Alphonzo 
in  Madrid.  She  engaged  me  for  her  waiting 
woman.  I  was  married  directly  after  to  one  of 
Don  Alphonzo's  sailors.  We  came  to  this  island 
in  one  of  the  Don's  ships.  The  castle  was  most 
gorgeously  furnished  with  the  spoils  of  almost 
every  country  in  the  world.  I  thought  Don 
Alphonzo  was  a  great  noble,  so  did  my  husband, 
for  he  was  so  called  in  Spain,  but  soon  my  husband 
told  me  that  the  Don  and  all  his  men  were  bucca 
neers.  Donna  Inez  did  not  know  the  truth  until 
after  we  came  here.  We  tried  to  get  away,  but 
that  was  impossible.  The  Don  brought  the  rich 
est  dresses  and  jewels  to  make  the  Donna  like  her 
home,  but  he  could  not  succeed.  Many  wrecks  I 
have  seen  in  just  the  same  place  you  were  wrecked 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  HI 

in  ;  Don  Alphonzo  and  his  crew  burned  false  signals 
at  night,  they  hoisted  false  colors  by  day,  they 
drew  the  unfortunate  ships  to  their  doom;  the  Don 
had  a  hundred  men  in  this  castle,  ready  to  obey 
his  commands  at  any  moment.  They  had  uniforms 
and  flags  of  many  nations,  which  they  used  as 
disguises  and  decoys.  They  robbed  the  vessels 
which  fell  into  their  hands,  they  killed  some  of 
their  crews,  some  they  sold  into  slavery,  and  others 
who  refused  to  commit  murder,  they  chained  to 
•great  stones  down  in  the  middle  dungeon.  That 
was  called  the  'dungeon  of  death,' for  they  kept 
the  men  there  until  they  died  of  starvation,  and 
when  they  died,  they  threw  their  bodies  into  the 
well.  My  husband,  Juan,  was  put  into  that 
dungeon,  because  he  would  not  kill  a  Spanish  boy 
who  was  taken  prisoner,  but  Donna  Inez  made  the 
Don  release  him,  for  we  thought  Juan  would  help 
us  to  get  away.  The  Donna  had  promised  to  give 
him  half  of  her  jewels,  if  he  would  find  some  way 
to  get  us  back  to  Spain,  but  he  made  himself  pow 
erless,  he  soddened  his  brain,  he  murdered  his 
manly  feelings  ;  he  was  once  good  and  brave  and  I 
loved  him  with  all  the  intensity  and  devotion  of  a 
true  woman,  but  he  learned  to  value  strong  drink 
more  than  my  affection,  he  killed  my  love,  he 
drowned  it  in  the  fiery  cup,  and  I  grew  to  despise 
and  loath -him.  Don  Alphonzo  was  worse  than 
Juan,  for  he  had  so  much  learning  and  so  much 
power  and  he  turned  it  all  to  a  bad  use.  He 
blasted  other  lives  by  his  own  evil  example.  Out 


112  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

of  his  wickedness  grew  the  curse    which  fell  upon 
me,  but  he  has  met  with  retribution." 

"  Poor    Louisita,"  said    Mrs.  Carleton,  speaking 
very  gently,  "  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

"Nothing,"  she  replied.  "  Let  me  tell  you  the 
rest.  One  night  the  Don  and  his  crew  came  back 
with  the  greatest  prize  they  ever  seized.  The 
men  were  summon  ed  to  unload  the  ship.  They 
made  imme  nse  fires  from  the  castle  to  the  beach, 
and  by  their  glare  they  robbed  the  merchants  of 
their  valuable  cargo.  It  was  near  midnight  before, 
their  rapacity  was  satisfied.  Don  Alphonzo  ordered 
the  vessel  to  remain  where  she  laid  until  daybreak, 
when  he  intended  to  set  her  adrift,  with  all  her 
crew  on  board,  that  he  might  see  them  dashed  on 
to  those  rocks  w  hich  you  see  down  yonder.  The 
Don  then  com  manded  a  feast  to  be  set  in  the  ban 
queting  hall,  in  the  base  of  the  north  tower.  He 
ordered  every  man  in  the  castle  to  attend  the  revel, 
that  they  might  rejoice  over  their  great  prize. 
They  all  went  ;  the  wine  flowed  like  water  ;  they 
went  down  to  the  banqueting  hall  by  a  secret  stair 
way  ;  they  passed  along  a  stone  passage,  which 
was  closed  by  an  iron  gate.  The  banqueting  hall 
had  no  windows ;  they  always  held  their  revels 
there,  that  they  might  not  be  surprised  by  any 
enemy,  for  no  light  could  be  seen  outside,  and  no 
one  could  tell  that  they  were  carousing.  .  I  listened 
on  the  secret  stairs  until  their  loud  shouting  had 
ceased,  and  I  knew  that  the  strong  drink  had  sod- 
dened  their  brains,  and  paralyzed  their  arms.  I 
ran  to  Donna  Inez ;  I  dressed  her  in  the  richest 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  113 

brocade  ;  I  covered  her  neck  and  arms  with  jewels 
of  fabulous  worth,  for  I  knew  the  effect  of  costly 
attire  upon  the  accursed  sex  whose  help  we  needed. 
I  made  ready  some  caskets  of  jewels  to  take  with 
us.  I  told  the  Donna  all  that  I  had  heard  of  the 
ship  lying  there  till  morning,  and  we  resolved  to 
let  the  captain  know  that  the  Don  and  all  his  men 
were  powerless,  and  to  offer  him  the  Donna's  jew 
els  if  he  would  take  us  away.  We  knew  he  would 
be  glad  to  escape ;  we  knew  he  would  be  glad  of 
the  jewels,  for  they  would  make  him  very  rich. 
We  were  ready  to  leave  the  castle.  My  babes 
were  very  young ;  they  were  asleep  in  a  large 
basket ;  I  could  easily  carry  them  to  the  beach. 
We  heard  a  sound  like  a  moan  ;  it  seemed  far  off, 
then  a  distant  rumble,  but  nearer  than  the  first 
sound  ;  next  a  terrific  roar;  another  and  a  fearful 
crash,  crash.  For  a  moment  the  whole  castle 
trembled;  a  flash  of  light  lit  up  the  place;  the 
north  tower  was  wrecked  from  top  to  bottom ; 
the  walls  fell  inward  ;  they  fell  as  you  see  them 
lying  now,  for  no  hand  has  touched  them  since. 
We  knew  an  earthquake  had  occurred.  My  babes 
awoke  and  screamed  ;  I  tried  to  quiet  them,  and  to 
hold  Donna  Inez  back,  but  she  tore  herself  away  ; 
she  was  panic  stricken  ;  she  did  not  know  what 
she  did ;  she  said  something  to  me  as  she  ran  out 
of  her  room  about  seeking  protection  ;  she  rushed 
down  the  stairs  in  the  direction  of  the  banqueting 
hall ;  she  never  came  up  them  again.  As  soon  as 
I  had  hushed  my  babes  I  followed  her.  She  was 
inside  the  iron  gate ;  it  had  closed  upon  her  as  she 


PKAK'S  ISLAND. 

passed  through.  It  could  only  be  opened  by  those 
who  understood  the  secret  spring.  There  was  no 
one  who  could  come  to  show  us  how  to  open  it. 
We  could  not  break  the  gate;  that  was  impossible. 
We  saw  that  the  further  end  of  the  castle  was 
stopped,  all  filled  up  with  immense  blocks  of  stone 
which  had  crashed  in  when  the  tower  fell.  Don 
Alphonzo  and  more  than  a  hundred  men  lay  under 
the  ruins ;  they  shrieked  and  groaned  there  all 
through  the  night.  Donna  Inez  became  frantic. 
She  dashed  herself  against  the  iron  bars  like  some 
newly  caged  bird.  In  the  morning  when  the  sun 
came  up  from  the  sea  she  was  dead.  I  looked  for 
the  ship ;  it  had  sailed.  I  had  almost  lost  the 
power  of  moving,  but  the  cries  of  my  babes  called 
me  back  to  activity.  I  gathered  some  covering 
and  some  .other  things  and  took  them  to  the  Vik 
ings'  tomb.  I  tore  away  the  earth  to  make  an 
entrance.  We  lived  there  till  cold  and  hunger 
killed  my  babes.  I  have  lived  there  ever  since. 
Nothing  could  induce  me  ever  to  enter  the  castle 
again." 

"  Why  do  you  call  it  the  Vikings-'  tomb,  Louis- 
ita?"  asked  Mrs.  Carleton. 

"  That  was  what  Don  Alphonzo  called  it.  I 
think  he  knew  for  he  was  a  man  of  much  learning, 
although  he  had  no  sense.  He  said  the  Vikings 
built  the  castle  very  long  ago,  and  lived  here  for 
two  hundred  years  till  a  great  pestilence  prevailed 
among  them,  and  so  many  died  of  it  that  the  re 
maining  ones  deserted  the  place.  He  said  the 
Indians  cast  a  spell  over  the  Vikings  and  bewitched 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.    '  115 

them,  because  the  Indians  used  to  live  here  in 
wigwams  before  the  Vikings  came  and  drove  them 
away  from  their  own  land,  and  would  not  allow 
them  to  bury  their  dead  among  their  forefathers, 
for  they  have  a  burial  place  on  this  island.  It  is 
down  there  just  below  the  swamp  where  I  saw  you 
gathering  flowers  one  day  soon  after  you  came 
here.  There  is  a  large  elm  tree  down  there,  the 
only  one  near.  The  Indians  are  buried  there  all 
round  it.  They  always  had  an  elm  tree  in  that 
place.  They  have  a  secret  charm  by  which  they 
keep  it  there.  The  Vikings  cut  down  their  elm 
many  times,  but  it  sprung  up  again  in  the  night, 
and  was  as  tall  and  large  as  ever  the  next  day. 
When  we  came  here  Don  Alphonzo  had  their  tree 
cut  down  every  day,  but  it  always  came  up  again  just 
the  same.  At  last  he  was  afraid  the  Indian  spirits 
would  cast  a  spell  over  him,  too,  so  he  let  their  elm 
alone.  The  Indians  still  bury  their  dead  under  it, 
but  no  one  ever  sees  them  arrive.  They  come  in 
the  night.  An  elm  will  always  grow  there  till  the 
two  thousand  years  for  which  they  have  their 
charm  has  expired.  After  that  time  there  will 
never  be  another." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  fool,  a  fool  !  —  I  met  a  fool  i'  the  forest. 


first  winter  which  the  ladies  and  little 
Cora  passed  on  the  island,  was  unusually 
severe,  but  they  had  expected  and  pre- 
pared  for  it  ;  and  the  winter  scene  was  so 
novel  to  them,  and  fraught  with  so  much  beauty, 
that  they  never  wearied  of  it.  Besides  the  con 
stant  occupation  in  their  housekeeping  and  attend 
ing  to  Cora,  and  also  caring  for  Louisita,  and 
providing  her  with  all  the  comforts  they  had  in 
their  power  to  take  to  her,  for  she  still  insisted  in 
living  in  the  Vikings'  tomb,  which  she  never  per 
mitted  them  to  enter. 

Spring  came  at  last,  and  with  it  returned  to  the 
island  the  robins,  the  song  thrushes,  the  beautiful 
golden  orioles,  and  the  humming  birds,  all  of 
which  had  gone  southward  at  the  beginning  of 
winter.  The  wood  violets  and  the  trailing  arbutus 
blossomed  among  the  grass.  The  spruces  and 
pines  put  forth  their  young  buds,  and  the  whole 
island  wore  a  garb  of  beauty. 

The  little  family  of  three,  spent  much  time  out 
of  doors,  and  visited  the  beach  almost  daily,  for 
they  all  loved  the  sea,  especially  little  Cora  ;  and 
to  enhance  her  happiness  was  the  first  desire  of 
of  both  of  the  ladies.  They  frequently  wandered 
around  Ralph's  grave,  and  never  omitted  adding  a 


BUCCANEER   DAYS. 

stone  to  the  cairn,  which  they  had  raised  to  his 
memory.  Little  Cora  with  her  tiny  hands,  always 
placing  her  own  mite  to  the  pile.  As  the  child 
grew  stronger,  they  took  longer  walks,  and  taught 
her  from  the  book  of  nature  as  they  went  along, 
for  Nature's  lessons  in  geology,  and  botany,  and 
natural  history,  lay  all  around  them. 

They  had  by  this,  brought  their  lives  into  the 
same  degree  of  system  and  order,  as  that  in  which 
they  had  each  of  them  been  educated  in  their  re 
spective  homes ;  the  want  of  which  during  the 
first  part  of  their  residence  on  the  island  they 
greatly  missed.  They  now  divided  their  days,  and 
had  regular  hours  for  certain  occupations,  and  they 
made  a  compact,  that  they  would  always  be  cheer 
ful  in  the  presence  of  the  child,  and  meet  their 
destiny  bravely,  that  they  might  not  give  a  somber 
tinge  to  her  young  life.  Everything  went  well 
with  them  as  far  as  might  be,  excepting  that  Lou- 
isita,  who  had  the  control  over  three  cows,  would 
never  let  them  have  a  drop  of  milk  for  Cora.  The 
child  had  for  a  long  while  after  their  coming,  con 
stantly  repeated  at  every  meal  "Dinah,  bing  milk." 
She  seemed  to  think  her  negress  nurse  was  some 
where  near  her,  and  was  able  to  bring  anything 
she  wished  for,  as  formerly. 

Her  demands  for  milk,  had  ceased  for  a  week  or 
two,  when  one  morning  she  again  begged  for  it, 
and  when  told  she  could  not  have  any,  a  look  of 
extreme  repression  of  feeling  came  over  her  fea 
tures.  She  did  not  cry,  or  in  any  way  show  tem 
per.  The  food  was  distasteful  to  the  poor  little 


PEAK'S    ISLAND. 

thing  ;  and  the  look  of  forced  endurance,  one  may 
say  that  forced  resignation  and  endurance  com 
bined,  which  we  sometimes  see  in  older  faces 
and  which  is  utterly  discordant  with  their  reas 
oning  faculties,  was  distressing  to  behold  in  one  so 
young.  The  child  could  not  understand  why  she 
was  not  to  have  milk  ;  but  the  brave  spirit  of  her 
mother  was  her  birthright,  and  like  her  mother, 
she  endured  disappointment  without  a  murmur. 

"This  must  not  be  any  longer,  Ada,"  said  Miss 
Vyvyan.  "  It  is  too  much  for  you  to  witness,  and 
for  Cora  to  suffer.  That  dear  child  shall  have 
some  milk.  I  will  learn  how,  and  I  will  milk  one 
of  those  cows,  whether  Louisita's  sword  kills  me 
or  not." 

"Dear  Anna,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "I  pray  you 
do  not  expose  yourself  to  danger ;  do  not  be  rash. 
Why  what  has  come  to  you  ?  I  never  heard  you 
speak  like  that  before." 

"I  know  it,  Ada,  but  you  never  saw  me  so  placed 
else  you  would  have.  I  detest  selfishness,  and  you 
have  been  so  kind  to  Louisita,  and  she  is  aware 
how  precious  Cora  is  to  us.  You  know  we  shall 
not  be  depriving  her  of  anything,  because  she  told 
us  she  threw  most  of  the  milk  away ;  but  she  en 
courages  the  cows  to  come  here  in  order  to  keep 
them  tame.  You  recollect  that  she  told  you  the 
rest  of  the  herd  which  stay  on  the  other  side  of 
the  island  have  become  wild." 

"  I,  of  course,  know  that  we  should  not  be  de 
priving  Louisita,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton  ;  '  but  I  fear 
go  much  that  she  may  hurt  you," 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  119 

"  Only  teach  me  a  few  words  of  Spanish,  Ada," 
said  Miss  Vyvyan,  "and  I  will  put  that  out  of  her 
power.  Teach  me  to  say  I  am  a  spirit,  you  can 
not  harm  me." 

"  I  am  afraid,  Anna ;  for  your  own  sake  I  would 
not  have  you  go." 

"I  am  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  her,"  replied 
Miss  Vyvyan.  "  I  have  always  done  my  best  to 
help  her,  and  I  certainly  in.tend  to  continue  to  be 
kind  to  her,  because  she  needs  help;  but  I  never 
submit  to  injustice  being  done  either  to  my  friends 
or  to  myself.  I  consider  it  unjust  to  throw  away 
the  milk  which  Cora  so  much  requires." 

With  those  words  Miss  Vyvyan  left  the  room. 
In  a  few  minutes  she  returned. 

"  Ada,"  said  she,  addressing  Mrs.  Carleton,  "  my 
good  old  guar.dian,  Sir  Thomas,  used  to  say  'All  is 
fair  in  love  and  in  war.'  Now  I  am  going  to  unite 
both  love  and  war,  for  as  I  love  you  and  Cora  I 
must  in  all  honor  defend  you  both,  just  as  some 
gallant  knight  would  do  if  he  were  here.  Put 
your  hand  on  my  shoulder  and  feel  what  is  there." 

Mrs.  Carleton  did  so. 

"Why,  what  have  you  under  your  dress  ?"  said 
she. 

"  A  whole  suit  of  chain  armor,  Ada,  that's  all, 
and  a  helmet  of  the  same  under  this  lace  scarf  on 
.my  head.  Louisita  won't  have  the  pleasure  of 
piercing  my  heart  this  time,  and  when  she  finds 
that  she  cannot,  she  will  think  the  spirits  are 
round  me,  or  that  I  am  like  the  Indians  and  have 
a  charm-  I  am  going  now  ;  the  cows  are  in  sight, 


120  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

I  saw  how  Louisita  milked,  and  I  think  I  can  do  it. 
Look  down  from  the  window,  Ada,  and  see  the 
fun." 

"Anna  be  back,"  said  the  child,  looking  up  with 
a  face  more  full  of  anxious  desire  than  inquiry. 

"  Yes,  precious  one,"  replied  Miss  Vyvyan, 
"  Anna  will  come  back." 

No  sooner  had  Miss  Vyvyan  approached  the 
cow  and  was  endeavoring  to  imitate  as  well  as  she 
could  Louisita's  way  of  milking,  than  the  latter 
came  striding  out  of  the  mound  wearing  her  cav 
alry  boots  and  flourishing  her  sword,  exclaiming, 
as  usual  : 

"  Hence;  away,  away  ;  all  here  is  mine.  Touch 
not  that  cow.  I  will  pierce  your  heart." 

Miss  Vyvyan  who  heard  it  all  did  not  take  any 
notice  of  her,  but  went  on  with  apparent  indiffer 
ence,  pursuing  her  lacteal  occupation.  Louisita 
stood  over  her  and  went  through  all  the  sword 
exercises  that  she  was  mistress  of.  Still  Miss 
Vyvyan  continued  her  endeavor  to  milk,  unharmed 
either  by  cut  or  thrust.  Presently,  turning  to 
Louisita,  she  repeated  her  Spanish  lesson  as  well 
as  she  could  in  the  midst  of  her  laughter. 

"  It  is  the  fool  who  is  laughing,"  said  Louisita, 
looking  up  at  Mrs.  Carleton,  who  was  leaning  out 
of  one  of  the  tower  windows.  "It  is^the  fool,  who 
has  not  sense  enough  to  know  that  she  is  not 
happy.  I  shall  never  interfere  with  her  again  ;  she 
can  have  all  the  milk  she  wishes  for  ;  she  has  a 
charmed  life." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strained ; 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven, 
Upon  the  place  beneath.     It  is  twice  bless'd. 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes. 
'Tis  mightiest  in  the  mightiest. 

BUMMERS  and  winters  went  by  ;  five  years 
had  passed  since  the  family  had  been  cast 
on  the  island  ;  they  had  watched  from  the 
tower  almost  daily  for  a  white  sail,  but 
none  had  ever  appeared,  and  yet  they  always  con 
tinued  to  hope  that  the  day  would  come,  and  they 
struggled  within  themselves  to  be  patient  and 
cheerful.  Sometimes  the  thought  would  take  pos 
session  of  the  mind  of  each  of  the  ladies,  that  one  • 
or  other  of  them  might  die,  and  how  terrible  it 
would  be  for  the  one  who  was  left,  and  worse  still 
a  thousand  times,  both  of  them  might  die  and 
leave  Cora  ;  but  neither  of  them  would  ever  breathe 
a  word  which  could  convey  such  an  idea  to  the 
other  ;  and  when  such  thoughts  and  feelings  op 
pressed  them,  they  took  the  best  method  of  dispell 
ing  their  anxiety  by  engaging  themselves  in  some 
active  occupation.  They  made  a  pretty  garden 
for  summer  enjoyment  out  of  doors,  and  another 
for  winter  in  one  of  the  large  rooms,  by  filling 
boxes  and  chests  with  earth.  They  always  had 
beautiful  flowers  in  their  parlor,  which  was  a 
6 


122  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

great  source  of  delight   to    Cora,    as    well    as    to 

her  guardians.     The  two  guitars    which  they  had 

found  in    the  castle,  they  strung   with   wire,  and 

managed   to  have  some   music  every  evening  in 

the  twilight;    then    they   had    a   time   set  apart, 

also  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening,  which  they 

called  Cora's  hour.     For  that  period,  they  devoted 

themselves  wholly  to  the  recital  of  such  subjects 

as  were  suitable  and  pleasant  to  her,  and   which 

they   varied    every   day    in    the   week,    weaving 

each  recital  into   a  little  story,  sometimes  telling 

from    history ;    at    another    time,    Mrs.    Carleton 

would    compose    a    story    about    Virginian    life, 

and    Miss  Vyvyan  would  tell    one  about    foreign 

countries ;  but  the  hour  Cora  liked  best,  was  the 

one  devoted   to  poetry  and  fairy  tales.     She  was 

now  in  her  eighth  year,  and  could  read  very  well  ; 

but  there  were  no  fairy  tales  among  the  numerous 

•books  in  the  library,  so   the  ladies  repeated  them 

from  memory.     When  the  friends  had  put  Cora  to 

bed,  they  always  remained    together    during    the 

rest  of  the  evening,  working,  and  reading  aloud  to 

each    other,    making    new   dresses  for  Cora,  who 

grew  very  fast,  or  planning  some  pleasant  surprise 

for  her,  and  as  far  as  their  present  position  allowed, 

always  considering  the  child's  future,  and  in  what 

manner  it  was  their  duty  to  educate  her,  so  that 

she  might  be  best  prepared   to  encounter  any  of 

the  /everses  or  changes  of  condition,  which   fate 

brings  into  the  lives  of  so  many  of  us. 

Louisita  had   taught  the   ladies  how  to  poison 
some  of  the  provisions  with  a  plant  which  grew  in 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  123 

the  woods,  and  by  so  doing,  and  laying  the  pois 
oned  food  about  the  ground,  they  had  destroyed 
nearly  all  the  wolves,  and  now  wandered  about  the 
island  where  they  desired,  making  expeditions  in 
search  of  flowers,  or  having  little  picnics  for  Cora 
in  the  woods,  and  visiting  Ralph's  cairn  without 
their  former  fear.  They  had  all  been  spending  a 
long  summer  afternoon  on  the  beach,  the  ladies 
seated  on  the  rocks  between  Ralph's  cairn  and  the 
sea,  Mrs.  Carleton  working  on  a  dress,  that  she 
was  making  for  Louisita,  Miss  Vyvyan  reading 
aloud,  and  Cora  filling  in  the  small  open  spaces  in 
the  cairn,  with  little  stones  of  her  own  selecting. 
The  sun  had  gone  behind  the  the  hill  on  the  wes 
tern  side  of  the  castle,  when  the  little  party  left 
Ralph's  cairn  and  strolled  along  the  shore,  as  they 
returned  homeward,  gathering  the  beautiful  sea- 
pea  blossoms  on  their  way. 

"Anna,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  "we  have  not  seen 
Louisita  to-day;  shall  we  go  to  the  mound  and  tell 
her  that  her  dress  will  be  finished  in  the  morning, 
perhaps  that  would  please  her  ?  " 

"  I  am  ready,"  replied  Miss  Vyvyan,  "  to  go  any 
where  you  please,  Ada ;  you  always  know  the 
right  thing  to  do." 

"  May  I  stay  a  little  way  off  with  Anna,"  said 
Cora,  "  not  far  ;  I  am  afraid  of  Louisita,  but  I  want 
to  be  near  you,  mama,  to  take  care  of  you. 
Don't  you  think,  Anna,  that  Louisita  is  very  cross," 
said  the  child. 

"  Not  now,  dear,  she  has  been  very  gentle  and 
quiet  for  the  last  year." 


124  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"  I  remember,"  the  child  continued,  "  a  long 
time  ago  when  I  was  little  and  you  were  trying  to 
get  some  milk  for  me,  and  she  hit  you  with  her 
sword,  she  frightened  me  so  ;  I  was  afraid  she 
would  kill  you." 

"  She  does  not  carry  her  sword  any  longer,"  said 
Miss  Vyvyan,  and  she  does  not  scold  us  any  more  ; 
she  would  not  hurt  any  one  now,  your  mama  has 
been  so  kind  to  her,  and  set  her  such  an  example 
of  goodness  that  she  has  made  her  good,  too." 

They  had  reached  the  entrance  to  the  mound ; 
Cora  shrank  back  and  clasped  Miss  Vyvyan's 
hand,  who  led  her  a  few  steps  on  one  side. 

"What  is  this,"  said  the  child  holding  in  her 
hand  a  gold  ornament  set  with  garnets  that  she 
had  just  picked  up  from  a  heap  of  rubbish  which 
appeared  to  be  sweepings  from  Louisita's  abode- 

"  That  is  a  fibula,  Cora,  such  as  I  saw  in  a 
museum  in  Norway." 

"  Look,  Anna,  look  at  these"  she  continued, 
gathering  up  several  antique  beads  of  glass  mosaic 
and  a  few  chess  men  of  amber  from  the  same  place. 
"  Tell  me  what  they  are  ? " 

"They  all  came  from  Norway,"  replied  Miss 
Vyvyan,  explaining  their  use  to  her. 

Mrs.  Carleton  meanwhile  knocked  on  the  broken 
planks  which  served  for  a  floor,  and  as  Louisita 
did  not  appear  she  entered  the  mound,  but  soon 
came  out  again,  and  whispered  something  to  Miss 
Vyvyan  who  passed  in,  leaving  Mrs.  Carleton  with 
Cora.  On  first  entering,  it  was  difficult  to  distin 
guish  the  interior  of  the  place,  or  any  of  the  nu- 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  125 

merous  objects  that  it  contained,  as  the  only  light 
came  in  through  the  shattered  door,  and  a  small 
hole  on  one  side  of  the  mound,  which  evidently 
served  as  a  chimney  and  a  window  also.  After  a 
few  seconds,  when  Miss  Vyvyan's  eyes  became 
accustomed  to  the  extremely  subdued  light,  she 
saw  that  she  was  in  a  place  that  was  four  or  five 
hundred  feet  in  circumference  and  about  twenty- 
four  feet  high.  Advancing  toward  the  side  on 
which  the  hole  was  broken,  she  observed  Louisita. 
A  gleam  of  light  fell  upon  her.  She  was  kneeling 
in  front  of  a  small  structure  which  formed  a  table. 
Her  hands  were  clasped  in  the  attitude  of  prayer, 
and  her  fixed  and  glassy  eyes  seemed  to  look  up  in 
the  direction  of  a  small  silver  crucifix,  which  hung  on 
the  wall  before  her.  Her  features  were  set  and  rigid. 
The  rich  brown  Spanish  tint  had  left  her  face. 
When  Miss  Vyvyan  looked  upon  her  she  knew 
that  she  was  dead,  and,  on  laying  her  hand  upon 
her  cold  brow,  she  concluded  that  death  had  taken 
place  many  hours  previously ;  perhaps  the  night 
before.  She  summoned  Mrs.  Carleton,  and  bidding 
Cora  sit  clown  where  they  could  see  her  from  the 
inside  of  the  mound,  the  ladies  proceeded  to  lay 
Louisita  to  rest  in  the  same  tomb  that  had  so  long 
been  her  dwelling.  They  lifted  her  on  to  her  bed  ; 
they  folded  the  poor,  tired  hands  of  the  weary 
woman,  whose  life  had  lingered  on  through  those 
lonely,  loveless  years.  They  took  the  silver  cruci 
fix  from  the  wall  and  laid  it  upon  her  breast  ;  for 
although  they  were  not  of  her  creed,  they  respected 
her  devotion.  They  felt  thankful  that  in  her  life- 


126  PEAK'S   ISLANt). 

time  they  had  done  all  they  could  to  lighten  her 
burden.  They  felt  still  more  thankful  for  her  own 
sake,  that  her  pilgrimage  was  ended,  and  that  she 
had  gone  to  join  the  babes  who  were  so  dear  to 
her  mother's  heart. 

Not  finding  sufficient  boards  to  close  up  the 
entrance  securely,  the  ladies  went  to  the  further 
end  of  the  place  to  get  some  which  they  saw  there. 
The  pile  was  very  high,  and  as  soon  as  they  took 
hold  of  one,  several  other  boards  fell  in  broken 
pieces  at  their  feet,  revealing  the  ribs  of  an  old 
Norwegian  ship,  inside  of  which  lay  the  skeleton 
of  a  man  which  had  been  there  so  long,  that  it 
began  to  crumble  to  ashes  the  moment  it  was  ex 
posed  to  the  air.  They  turned  to  leave  the  ship 
when  another  and  much  larger  fall  of  boards 
exposed  the  skeleton  of  a  horse.  They  paused  a 
moment  and  looked  round  ;  they  saw  that  Louis- 
ita  was  not  in  error  when  she  had  told  them  that 
the  Norsemen  were  at  one  time  on  the  island,  for 
there  was  every  evidence  of  the  mound  being  the 
tomb  of  a  Viking.  Among  the  bones  of  the  horse 
lay  the  remains  of  a  bridle  and  saddle  of  leather 
and  wood,  the  mountings  of  which  were  in  bronze 
and  silver.  Near  that  of  the  man  lay  some  ring- 
armor,  a  shield-buckle,  two  stones  of  a  hand-mill 
for  grinding  corn,  bits  for  bridles,  stirrups,  some 
gold  finger  rings  and  a  fibula  of  the  same  metal. 
The  ladies  passed  quietly  out  of  the  tomb,  and 
built  up  the  entrance  as  well  as  they  could  with 
stones  and  earth,  acrbss  which  they  drew  the  vines 
and  brambles  that  grew  among  the  spruces  close 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  127 

by,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  following  summer 
there  was  not  any  trace  left  of  an  entrance  ever 
having  been  there. 

Mrs.  Carleton  had  missed  Miss  Vyvyan  for  a 
longer  period  of  time  than  usual  one  day,  and  in 
going  in  search  of  her  to  a  part  of  the  castle  which 
they  rarely  went  into,  she  found  her  engaged  in 
making  a  little  gift  to  surprise  Cora  with,  and  sing 
ing  in  a  low  tone  the  following  song  :  — 

WHY? 
Oh  weary  years  why  come  and  go 

With  endless  sorrow  rife; 
And  hope's  dead  dreams  why  come  ye  back 

To  mock  my  empty  life  ? 

Oh  destiny,  oh  bitter  fate, 

Oh  burning  tears  that  start, 
Why  must  the  hearts  that  love  the  most 

Forever  dwell  apart  ? 

Mrs.  Carleton  entered  the  room  so  gently  that 
Miss  Vyvyan  was  not  aware  of  her  presence  until 
the  former  was  close  beside  her. 

"You  look  sad,  dear  Anna;  what  can  I  do  to 
cheer  you  ? " 

"This  is  a  sad  anniversary  for  me,"  replied  Miss 
Vyvyan  ;  "  but  I  did  not  intend  you  to  know  it." 

"  Let  us  hope,  Anna,  that  time  will  give  us  back 
some  of  our  former  happiness,"  said  Mrs.  Carle- 
ton. 

"  The  grave  is  unrelenting,  Ada  ;  it  never  gives 
back  what  it  has  taken  from  us.  I  will  tell  you  all 
some  day.  I  cannot  talk  about  the  past  now ;  it 
would  unfit  me  for  being  of  use  to  others  who 


1-28  PEAK'S   ISLANtD. 

have  suffered ;  it  would  make  me  no  companion  for 
you  and  dear  Cora;  it  would  be  selfish  to  intrude 
my  life  upon  you." 

"  No,  Anna,  pray  tell  me  why  I  sometimes  see 
so  sad  an  expression  on  your  face  which  you 
change  the  instant  you  find  I  am  looking  at  you. 
You  know  you  have  never  alluded  to  any  event  in 
your  life  prior  to  our  being  shipwrecked.  You 
have  told  me  of  your  childhood,  certainly,  but  that 
was  so  bright  and  happy  that  the  recollection  of  it 
must  be  an  endless  source  of  thankfulness.  Now 
I  again  pray  of  you,  tell  me  all." 

"As  you  so  much  wish  it,  Ada,"  replied  Miss 
Vyvyan,  "  I  will  tell  you  that  the  sunlight  went 
out  of  my  life  too  soon.  At  the  time  I  first  met 
you  the  world  was  all  darkness  to  me ;  all  my  days 
and  years  were  winter,  and  my  only  wish  was  to 
die." 

"  Oh  Anna,  do  not  say,  that,"  said  Mrs.  Carle- 
ton  ;  "  but  go  on  and  tell  me  why." 

"  Forgive  me,  I  fear  I  was  rebellious,  but  I  only 
thought  of  the  present.  I  could  not  look  forward; 
it  seemed  as  if  there  were  no  future  for  me  here. 
I  was  alone ;  the  only  lips  which  had  the  right  to 
breathe  my  name  were  sealed  in  death,  and  the 
stately  dignity  or  cold  respect  with  which  I  was 
always  addressed  reminded  me  hourly  of  my  iso 
lated  existence.  I  have  no  words  that  can  express 
to  you  the  utter  desolation  I  felt  in  having  no  one 
to  call  me  by  name.  I  often  sought  the  whisper 
ing  of  the  wind  through  the  trees,  the  leaves  and 
the  long,  waving  grass  in  the  hope  that  it  might 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  129 

emit  a  sound  which  my  fancy  could  fashion  into 
the  once  familiar  name,  but  all  in  vain  ;  the  trees 
and  the  leaves  and  the  grass,  even  the  rocks  and 
hills,  whispered  and  murmured  and  talked  of  many 
things,  but  the  sound  I  most  longed  to  hear  came 
never." 

Anna  noticed  that  Mrs.  Carleton  looked  sorrow 
ful.     She  ceased  speaking. 

"  Why  did  you  stop,  Anna  ;  go  on." 

"I    am    distressing  you,  I  see,"  answered  Miss 
Vyvyan  ;  "  I  ought  not  to  pain,  you." 

"  Please  go  on,  Anna." 

"  I  cannot  expect  you  to  comprehend  my  exceed 
ing  loneliness  at  that  time,  because  your  life 
has  never  been  empty,  and  you  have  now  your 
beautiful  child.  When  first  I  met  you  I  had  noth 
ing.  When  I  say  nothing,  I  do  not  mean  to  infer 
that  I  was  destitute  of  worldly  means.  I  had  an 
ample  fortune  which  I  inherited  from  my  mother, 
besides  the  manor  house  and  the  landed  estates  of 
my  grandfather ;  but  I  was  destitute  in  the  deep 
est  sense;  I  had  nothing  of  my  own  to  love;  I 
was  alone.  Do  you  know  what  that  word  alone 
means,  '  when  hope  and  the  dreams  of  hope  lie 
dead  ? '  No,  Ada,  you  cannot,  God  grant  you 
never  may.  At  length  there  dawned  that  rich, 
golden  autumn  clay,  when  you  named  Cora,  and 
gave  me  the  right  to  say  '  My.'  The  surprise  was 
so  great  to  me  that  I  scarcely  knew  whether  I  was 
moving  about  in  a  dream,  for  my  existence  had 
been  so  long  void  of  interest  that  I  deemed  hap 
piness  for  me  dead.  But  when  I  took  Cora  in  my 
6* 


130  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

arms,  and  looked  into  the  wondrous  eyes,  and  saw 
the  love,  the  purity  and  the  delicate  sensibility  of 
the  being  to  whom  I  could  always  in  the  future  say 
'My,'  a  new  world  and  a  new  existence  seemed 
before  me,  and  I  thought  angel  voices  thus  whis 
pered  and  said,  '  We  have  brought  this  beautiful 
child  into  your  life  to  dwell  forever  as  a  sweet,  fair 
flower  in  the  garden  of  your  heart.'  And  as  the 
child  grew  and  talked  and  called  me  by  my  name, 
the  music  of  its  voice  and  footstep  gladened  my 
soul  and  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  through  my  whole  be 
ing.  Ever  since  the  day  of  our  shipwreck,  when 
you  were  lying  on  the  beach  so  near  death  that  I 
did  not  dare  to  allow  myself  to  believe  that  you 
could  live,  (and  may  I  say  it,  Ada,  without  seeming 
vain),  when  I  was  made  the  instrument  to  call  you 
back  to  life.  Ever  since  that  day  until  this,  you 
and  Cora  have  seemed  to  belong  to  me ;  to  be 
mine  to  love  and  live  for.  So  you  see  you  have 
brought  back  the  sunshine  into  my  life.  I  V.ave 
finished  ;  I  shall  never  again  talk  in  this  way.  My 
study  shall  be  to  brighten,  not  to  sadden,  the  path 
which  lies  before  you  in  the  future." 

Anna  Vyvyan  kept  her  promise  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  heart  that  has  been  mourning 

O'er  vanished  dreams  of  love, 

Shall  see  them  all  returning, 

Like  Noah's  faithful  dove. 

And  hope  shall  launch  her  blessed  bark 

On  sorrow's  darkening  sea. 


I  have  had  joy  and  sorrow;  I  have  proved 

What  lips  could  give;  have  loved  and  been  beloved; 

I  am  sick  and  heart-sore, 

And  weary,  let  me  sleep ; 

But  deep,  deep, 

Never  to  awaken  more  ! 

|T  was  September  again,  and  the  golden  rod 
and  fall  asters,  that  had  for  seven  seasons 
been  Cora's  delight,  were  once  more  in 
their  yellow  and  purple  glory.  The  day 
was  sunny,  and  the  rich  autumnal  glow  spread 
itself  over  the  walls  of  the  old  castle,  the  forest, 
the  rocks,  and  the  sea,  and  the  island  and  its  sur 
roundings  seemed  to  the  little  family  to  be  more 
beautiful  than  ever. 

Mrs.  Carleton  was  engaged  in  decorating  the 
green  parlor  with  flowers  and  trailing  plants,  which 
Miss  Vyvyan  and  Cora  had  gathered  for  that  pur 
pose.  The  two  latter  had  gone  down  among  the 
trees  near  the  beach  to  get  the  last  basketful  of 
moss  to  complete  the  work  of  adornment. 

"  Quick,  Trefethen,  quick,  hand  me  my  gun  ;  see 


132  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

those  birds,  what  an  immense  flight  of  them,"  shouted 
a  strong  masculine  voice  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
trees  which  concealed  them  from  view,  and  which 
also  prevented  them  from  seeing  from  whom  the 
voice  came. 

"  Don't  fire,"  cried  Miss  Vyvyan,  instantly  catch 
ing  up  Cora  in  her  arms  as  she  used  to  do  in  the 
child's  baby  days. 

"Don't  fire,"  she  repeated,  "there  are  people 
here  who  are  coming  out  of  the  woods  on  that 
side,"  at  the  same  time,  forcing  her  way  among  the 
trees,  in  the  direction  from  which  the  voice  came ; 
and  taking  the  advantage  of  making  an  inspection 
without  being  seen  herself. 

Cora  caught  sight  of  two  figures  standing  on  the 
open  ground  between  the  forest  and  the  sea. 

She  clasped  Miss  Vyvyan's  neck  more  tightly 
and  whispered  softly,  "  Look,  Anna,  there  are  two 
papas." 

Miss  Vyvyan  paused,  and  looking  between  the 
branches  she  saw  a  tall,  finely  grown  gentleman  in 
the  full  military  uniform  of  a  colonel  of  the  British 
army.  By  his  side  stood  a  man  of  smaller  stature 
who  wore  the  blue  coat  of  a  sea  captain  of  that 
period.  As  the  sunlight  fell  upon  the  bright  scar 
let  uniform,  the  gold  laced  hat,  the  gold  epaulets 
and  the  handsome  scabbard  which  contained  the 
colonel's  sword,  the  child  gazed  in  great  amaze 
ment,  not  unmixed  with  admiration. 

As  we  have  already  said,  Cora  was  born  brave, 
and  like  her  mother  struggled  to  keep  up  a  calm 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  133 

courage  through  any  emergency  ;  but  the  poor  little 
heart  trembled  a  little  when  she  said, 

"  Anna,  I  think  he  is  a  very  pretty  papa,  but  why 
does  he  wear  that  sword  ?  Louisita  used  to  wear  a 
sword,"  she  added. 

"  We  are  safe,  Cora  ;  he  will  not  hurt  us.  He 
wears  the  uniform  of  our  king.  He  would  help  us 
if  we  wanted  him  to." 

"  Shall  we  go  to  him  ? "  said  the  child. 

"  Yes  ;  we  must  so  that  we  can  tell  your  mama 
what  sort  of  persons  are  on  the  island." 

A  few  more  steps  took  them  out  of  the  wood. 
Miss  Vyvyan  put  the  child  out  of  her  arms  and 
led  her.  The  gentleman  in  uniform  advanced  to 
meet  them,  and  raising  his  hat  said, 

"  Pray  pardon  me  if  I  caused  you  any  alarm.  I 
did  not  know  that  this  island  was  inhabited,  and  I 
saw  so  much  wild  fowl  that  the  temptation  to  shoot 
was  very  strong." 

"  I  can  quite  understand  that,"  replied  Miss 
Vyvyan.  "  We  need  no  apology,"  she  added,  "  as  we 
were  aware  that  most  gentlemen  enjoy  sport,  and 
your  bearing  and  the  uniform  that  you  wear  assure 
us  that  there  is  no  cause  for  alarm." 

The  officer  bowed  low,  but  made  no  reply. 

Cora,  who  was  still  holding  Miss  Vyvyan's  hand, 
looked  up  at  her  and  said  again,  "  What  a  pretty 
papa,  and  more  papas  coming  from  the  ship ;  but  I 
like  this  one  best." 

The  child's  excitement  was  so  great  that  her 
whisper  was  very  audible  to  the  officer. 

"  What  does  she  mean  ? "  he  asked. 


134  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

"That  is  her  own  way  of  expressing  herself," 
Miss  Vyvyan  answered.  "She  calls  all  pictures  of 
men  papas.  We  think  she  has  some  recollection 
of  her  father,  although  she  was  little  else  than  a 
babe  when  he  was  drowned  here,  which  is  seven 
years  ago  to-day.  She  appears  in  some  mysterious 
way  to  realize  that  there  was  such  a  relationship, 
for  she  delights  in  looking  at  pictures  of  papas  as 
she  calls  them,  more  especially  such  as  are  repre 
sented  as  wearing  military  uniform.  And  when 
she  was  very  young  I  have  often  seen  her  press 
her  cheek  against  that  of  a  small  statuette  which 
we  have  of  a  soldier  and  kiss  it  and  call  it  papa." 

While  Miss  Vyvyan  and  the  officer  were  still 
speaking  Cora  was  examining  the  handsome  uni 
form,  and  the  gentleman  was  looking  intently  at 
the  gold  chain  that  the  child  wore  round  her 
throat.  After  a  little  conversation  the  officer 
addressing  Miss  Vyvyan  said, 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  too  inquisitive  if 
I  ask  whether  this  fair  sea  flower  has  a  mother 
living." 

"  Oh  yes,"  cried  the  child  before  Miss  Vyvyan 
had  time  to  reply,  "  I  have  the  dearest  mama  in 
the  world  and  we  do  love  her  so,  don't  we  Anna  ?" 

Cora  in  her  enthusiasm  let  go  Miss  Vyvyan's 
hand,  and  taking  hold  of  the  officer's, 

"  Come,"  she  said,  "  come  with  us  and  see  her, 
and  then  you  will  love  her,  too." 

Miss  Vyvyan  was  about  to  suggest  that  proba- 
the  strange  gentleman  would  prefer  not  to  accept 
Cora's  invitation  until  he  had  received  one  from 


BUCCANEER  DAYS.  135 

her  mother,  when  he  interposed  by  asking  Cora 
what  her  mother's  name  was. 

"  Why,  it  is  mama,"  she  replied. 

"  Yes,  fair  one ;  but  she  has  another  name." 

"  Oh,  you  mean  Ada,  that  is  what  Anna  calls 
her." 

"  She  is  Mrs.  Carleton,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan. 

"Great  Heaven!  my  prayer  is  answered,"  ex 
claimed  the  officer.  Turning  quickly  away  for  a 
few  paces  he  covered  his  face  with  his  hands,  and 
his  stalwart  frame  trembled  with  emotion. 

"What  is  the  matter,"  said  Cora,  "are  you  un 
happy;  never  mind,  do  not  be  sorry,  papa." 

"  Yes,  my  beloved  child,  I  am  indeed  your  own 
papa  who  has  come  back  to  you  and  mama;  take 
me  to  her  ;  I  must  go  to  her  this  moment,  show  me 
the  nearest  way." 

Cora  again  clasped  her  hand  round  one  of  his 
fingers  and  as  she  lead  him  along  she  said,  "  Mama 
will  be  so  happy  for  she  thought  you  could  never 
come  back  to  us,  and  she  often  told  me  that  if  we 
were  good  we  should  go  to  you  some  day  ;  poorest 
mama,  big  tears  come  into  her  eyes  when  she  tells 
me  about  my  papa." 

Arriving  at  the  end  of  the  corridor  leading  to 
the  green  parlor  Cora  ran  swiftly  in  advance  of 
Miss  Vyvyan  and  Colonel  Carleton  calling  as  she 
went, 

"  Mama,  mama,  we  have  found  a  real  papa,  not  a 
picture,  but  my  own  papa." 

Then  came  the  meeting  of  the  long-parted 
hearts  and  the  recounting  of  events,  which  had 


136  PEAK'S   ISLAND. 

taken  place  since  the  day  on  which  destiny  had 
torn  the  husband  and  wife  from  each  other.  Cora 
full  of  fresh  young  life  joined  in  the  conversation 
every  instant,  telling  her  father  how  they  used  to 
get  the  eggs  of  the  sea  birds  and  the  honey  from 
the  wild  bees'  nest,  and  how  they  caught  the  sea 
perch  from  off  the  rocks,  and  how  she  found  a  jar 
of  gold  coins  near  the  Vikings'  tomb,  which  her 
mama  said  were  pesos,  and  all  about  the  fibula 
which  she  found  there,  also. 

Then  Colonel  Carleton  explained  how  he  tried 
to  rescue  his  wife  and  child,  just  as  Ralph  had  told 
them  a  few  days  after  they  were  wrecked ;  and 
how  he  was  picked  up  by  a  young  man  from  Wales 
who  came  out  in  the  English  ship,  and  was  lashed 
to  a  floating  mast  by  that  brave  young  fellow,  and 
by  him  kept  from  drowning  until  they  fell  in  with 
a  slave  ship  that  was  bound  for  the  coast  of  Africa, 
but  was  also  out  of  its  course  as  well  as  their  own 
unfortunate  vessels;  and  how  they  were  taken  on 
board  and  kept  toiling  under  an  African  sun  for 
nearly  seven  years,  when  good  fortune  smiled  upon 
them  and  they  were  sold  as  slaves  and  sent  to  the 
colony  of  Virginia. 

"The  same  young  Welshman,"  continued  Colonel 
Carleton,  has  always  been  with  me.  He  has  a 
very  remarkable  talent  for  navigation,  and  is  now 
the  captain  of  my  ship.  If  he  had  not  been  I  do 
not  think  I  should  ever  have  been  able  to  find  you, 
for  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  an  island  upon  which 
we  were  shipwrecked  ;  but  he  did,  and  under  Provi 
dence,  I  have  everything  to  thank  him  for." 


IWCCAXKEK  DAYS.  137 

"  Beg  pardon,"  said  a  voice  at  this  part  of  Col 
onel's  Carleton's  narrative,  and  turning  their  eyes 
in  the  direction  of  the  door  they  saw  standing 
there  the  muscular,  well-knit  figure,  the  pleasant 
face  and  bright  eyes  of  Captain  Trefethen. 

"Beg  pardon,"  he  repeated,  "but  I  heard  what 
the  Colonel  said  about  me,  and  I  want  to  say,  that 
if  he  had  not  cut  off  the  leather  belt  he  wore  and 
let  all  his  gold  fall  into  the  ocean,  that  I  might  have 
the  leather  to  chew  when  I  was  famishing  with  hun 
ger  on  the  mast,  I  must  have  died ;  and  I  feel  that 
under  Providence  I  have  everything  to  thank  him 
for.  I  made  up  my  mind  then  never  to  leave  the 
Colonel  till  I  saw  him  moored  in  a  safe  harbor. 
In  a  few  days,"  Captain  Trefethen  continued, 
"  everything  will  be  ready  for  the  good  ship  'Ada  ' 
to  sail  for  Virginia,  and  as  I  do  not  suppose  the 
Colonel  will  want  to  take  another  voyage  of  dis 
covery,  I  will  leave  you  all  there,  as  I  intended  to 
come  back  to  these  parts  myself  and  settle  on  an 
island  about  forty  miles  down  this  bay.  It  has  a 
queer  Indian  name,  '  Monhegan  '  they  call  it. 
Captain  John  Smith,  who  is  now  ranging  this 
coast,  told  me  about  it.  He  seems  to  have  a  fancy 
for  Indian  names.  I  shall  never  forget  how  he 
sung  the  praises  of  an  Indian  girl  the  night  before 
he  set  out  on  his  present  voyage.  '  Pocahontas,' 
he  called  her.  Here  is  some  fruit  and  a  few  little 
things  for  the  ladies,"  he  continued,  placing  a  box 
upon  one  of  the  tables  and  leaving  the  room. 

When  Colonel  Carleton  was  again  left  with  his 
wife  and  child  and  Miss  Vyvyan,  he  resumed  his 


138  I'KAK'S   ISLAND. 

conversation,  and  answered  all  the  anxious  and 
rapid  inquiries  of  Mrs.  Carleton.  "  Yes,"  he  said, 
"  I  assure  you  again  that  I  left  all  the  family  in 
Virginia  perfectly  well.  Your  father  attended  to 
my  estates  during  my  absence,  and  by  his  wisdom 
in  managing  them,  he  has  increased  their  value 
sevenfold.  Your  sister  Julia  was  married  two 
years  ago,  and  she  has  an  excellent  husband." 

"  Excellent  husband,"  echoed  Cora,  "  What  kind 
of  thing  is  that  ?  Mama  and  Anna  never  told  me 
about  the  excellent.  Where  do  you  find  it,  is  it  a 
bird  ;  can  it  sing  ;  may  I  have  one  ? " 

Cora  was  about  to  propound  further  questions  re 
garding  an  excellent  husband  when  the  merry 
peals  of  laughter  from  the  two  ladies  and  the  Col 
onel,  put  an  end  to  her  interrogations.  She  did 
not  understand  why  they  all  laughed,  and  like 
many  of  her  elders  under  similar  circumstances 
she  felt  sensitive  on  that  account  ;  but  with  her 
usual  quickness  of  thought,  she  said,  "  I  know 
why  you  are  so  merry,  papa ;  it  is  because  you  are 
so  glad  to  be  with  us  all  in  this  parlor,  that  mama 
has  made  so  pretty  with  these  bouquets  and 
wreaths  of  flowers.  Mama  makes  all  our  rooms 
pretty  ;  you  ought  to  see  them  when  the  days  are 
dark  and  foggy,  so  that  we  cannot  see  anything 
outside  ;  then  mama  gets  so  many  branches  of  the 
fragrant  fir  and  green  moss  and  red  berries,  and 
makes  the  most  beautiful  things." 

"  Why  does  mama  select  the  foggy  days  to 
adorn  the  rooms  most,  my  darling  ?  "  said  the 
Colonel. 


fcUCCANEER  DAYS.  139 

"  Why,  don't  you  know  ?  she  does  it  to  make 
Anna  and  me  happy.  Sunshine  within,  mama 
calls  it,  and  Anna  made  a  song  about  that ;  shall  I 
sing  it  to  you  ?  " 

Without  waiting  for  a  reply,  the  child  sung  the 
song  all  through,  keeping  time  on  her  father's  arm, 
which  encircled  her  as  she  sat  on  his  knee. 

When  the  refrain  "our  sunshine  is  within" 
ended,  Colonel  Carleton  bent  down  and  pressed  his 
lips  upon  the  golden  head  of  his  little  daughter. 

There  was  a  mist  before  his  eyes  as  he  said, 
"  Yes,  my  darling,  our  sunshine  is  within  our  own 
hearts,  and  it  is  in  mine  to-day  for  which  I  thank 
God." 

Cora  continued  talking,  telling  her  father  all 
about  the  beautiful  flowers  on  the  island,  and  the 
picnics  on  the  sea  beach  and  in  the  woods, 

"  And  one  day,  papa,"  said  she,  "  we  went  for  a 
long  walk  to  the  north  end  of  this  island,  mama 
said  it  was,  and  we  saw  such  a  pretty  little  island  all 
covered  with  trees,  and  the  eagles  were  up  on  the 
tall  pines.  It  was  so  close  to  our  island  that  we 
could  almost  jump  on  to  it,  and  mama  said  I  could 
think  of  a  name  for  it,  so  I  named  it  "  Fairy 
island."  I  think  our  island  that  we  live  on  is  very 
pretty,  too,  but  I  am  glad  we  are  going  to  Virginia 
to  live  near  grandpa  and  grandma  and  Aunt  Julia 
and  my  uncles,  and  I  want  to  see  grandpa's  dog 
Franco.  Do  you  know,  papa,  I  never  saw  a  dog. 
And  Anna  must  come,  too,  and  live  with  us." 

"  Of  course  she  will,"  said  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Carleton,  both  speaking  at  the  same  time  ;  and  per- 


140  PEAK'S   ISLANt). 

haps,  added  Cora,  when  it  is  summer,  we  will  go 
to  England  and  visit  Anna  in  her  old  home  at  the 
manor  house. 

"That  is  right,  Cora,"  said  Miss  Vyvyan  ;  "  the 
way  in  which  you  have  arranged  for  the  happiness 
of  all  of  us  is  admirable." 

"  Yes,"  said  Colonel  Carleton,  "  Cora  has  made 
a  very  pleasant  sounding  plan,  but  I  am  not  as 
sure  as  my  little  daughter  appears  to  be,  that  we 
shall  be  able  to  carry  out  the  whole  of  it,  for  when 
we  land  in  Virginia,  Miss  Vyvyan,  your  cousim 
Ronald  Fairfax,  may  have  something  to  say  in  the 
matter.  From  what  Ada  has  already  told  me,  you 
seem  to  have  felt  great  interest  in  poor  Ralph,  and 
he  and  Ronald  so  much  resembled  each  other  in 
all  respects  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  distin 
guish  them.  Pardon  me,  if  I  say  that  I  sincerely 
hope  you  may  take  an  interest  in  Ronald  ;  besides 
the  affection  that  existed  between  these  two  broth 
ers  was  so  profound  that  Ronald  will  desire  to 
show  his  gratitude  to  you  for  your  kind  care  of  one 
so  dear  to  him.  How  is  he  to  do  it  ?  I  only  see 
one  way." 

The  next  few  days  passed  by  very  quickly,  as 
every  one  was  busily  engaged  in  making  their 
preparations  for  the  voyage.  Full  of  autumn 
beauty,  the  last  day  arrived,  and  the  boat  with  its 
crew  waited  on  the  beach  for  the  family  from  the 
castle. 

"  Oh  dear,"  said  Cora,  who  was  standing  in  the 
green  parlor  all  ready  to  start,  with  her  arms  full 
of  her  favorite  golden  rod  and  fall  asters,  "how 


BUCCANEER   DAYS  141 

could  I  forget  to  pick  up  some  of  those  shells 
which  I  like  so  much  ;  I  wanted  to  take  some  to 
give  to  all  of  them  at  home,  I  am  so  sorry." 

"There  will  still  be  time  enough  to  get  some  be 
fore  we  embark,  Cora ;  you  shall  have  some,  dear," 
said  Miss  Vyvyan. 

"  Why  Anna,"  said  Mrs.  Carleton,  you  are  sure 
ly  not  going  down  to  the  breakers  to-day  ;  I  fear 
you  will  wear  your  life  out  for  Cora's  sake." 

"Never  mind  me,  Ada,"  replied  Miss  Vyvyan. 
"  If  I  die  in  a  labor  of  love  it  will  be  the  death  I 
most  desire." 

So  saying  she  took  a  little  basket  and  left  the 
room.  As  she  passed  through  the  door  Cora  threw 
her  a  kiss  and  said,  "Anna  be  back." 

As  we  have  said  previously,  the  ladies  liked  Cora 
to  keep  some  of  her  baby  language,  and  that  was 
one  of  her  own  modes  of  expression  which  they 
never  corrected.  It  reminded  them  of  her  infancy 
and  of  their  own  mutual  attachment,  which  first 
met  in  the  love  they  each  of  them  bore  toward  the 
child. 

"  Are  you  all  ready  ? "  said  Colonel  Carleton,  as 
he  came  along  the  corridor  to  the  green  parlor. 
"Where  is  Miss  Vyvyan  ?"  he  added,  on  entering 
the  room. 

"  She  has  gone  down  to  the  breakers  to  get 
some  shells  that  Cora  wishes  to  take  to  Virginia," 
replied  Mrs.  Carleton. 

"We  will  all  join  her  there,"  said  the  Colonel, 
"  and  then  we  can  walk  back  along  the  shore  to 
our  boat." 


142  PEAK'S  ISLAND. 

On  arriving  at  the  long  ledge  of  rocks  that  ran 
straight  out  into  the  ocean,  and  which  they  called 
the  "  Whale's  Back,"  they  entered  the  little  cove 
that  was  situated  on  the  side  nearest  to  the. castle. 
There  was  Miss  Vyvyan's  basket  half  filled  with 
the  shells  that  Cora  so  much  desired  ;  but  where 
was  she  ? 

In  another  moment,  Cora  with  her  quick  step  was 
springing  up  to  the  highest  part  of  the  rocks.  A 
shriek  of  anguish  from  the  child,  and  the  cry  in 
her  former  baby  language,  "  Anna  be  back,  Anna 
be  back,"  brought  her  parents  instantly  to  her 
side.  Looking  from  the  high  wall  that  nature  had 
formed,  and  across  the  larger  cove  on  the  other 
side,  they  saw  far  out  toward  the  open  sea  Miss 
Vyvyan's  upturned  face.  She  was  floating  on  an 
enormous  wave  which  was  bearing  her  rapidly 
toward  the  shore. 

"Oh  Anna,  poor  Anna;  save  her  Dudley,"  cried 
Mrs.  Carleton,  believing  anything  possible  to  the 
brave  and  kind-hearted  man,  who  had  dared  and 
surmounted  all  obstacles  for  her  own  sake. 

"  Yes,  dearest ;  yes,  trust  me.  I  will  do  my 
utmost,"  replied  the  Colonel,  quickly  scaling  the 
outer  side  of  the  cliff,  and  dashing  over  and  among 
the  broken  masses  of  rock  that  laid  between  him 
and  the  sea.  Throwing  off  his  hat  and  heavy  uni 
form  coat,  he  stood  with  extended  arms  at  the 
water's  edge,  exactly  at  the  spot  where  he  knew 
he  wave  would  strike.  Miss  Vyvyan  was  being 
swiftly  borne  toward  him  and  was  within  a  few  feet 
distance. 

THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  Ci 


BUCCANEER   DAYS.  143 

"  Keep  calm,"  he  called  to   her,  "  for  heaven's 
sake,  keep  calm,  and  I  can  save  you." 

The  great  wave  bearing  its  living  burden,  broke 
upon  the  beach  with  unusual  violence.  Colonel 
Carleton  was  struck  and  thrown  far  up  toward  the 
shore  by  its  mighty  force.  In  another  instant,  he 
was  on  his  feet  again,  rushing  forward  after  the  re 
ceding  water,  which  was  carrying  Miss  Vyvyan 
out.  She  still  floated  on  the  crest  of  the  wave. 
Raising  one  hand  and  unclasping  it,  she  threw 
upon  the  beach  a  small  white  shell,  saying  as  she 
did  so,  "  for  dear  Cora."  She  saw  the  friendly  out 
stretched  arm  of  the  brave  man  ;  she  looked  up  to 
the  rocks  ;  she  saw  the  pure,  classic  features  of 
gentle,  loving  Ada,  paralyzed  with  distress,  white 
as  marble,  pallid  and  death-like,  as  on  the  day  that 
she  had  kissed  them  back  to  life  seven  years  be 
fore.  She  saw  the  beautiful  child,  who  was  so 
precious  to  her ;  she  noted  the  terror,  pain  and 
love  in  its  fair,  young  face.  She  heard  the  sweet 
voice  calling  "  Anna  be  back."  She  saw  no  more, 
the  waters  covered  her  ;  the  same  ocean  which 
had  brought  her  to  the  island,  claimed  her  for  its 
own  and  bore  her  away  forever. 

Many  summers  and  winters  have  come  and  gone, 
and  long  years  have  passed  away  since  the  ladies 
and  their  dear  little  one  lived  on  the  island.  The 
flowers  have  faded  and  the  trees  of  the  forest  haVe 
died  with  time,  but  neither  time  nor  death  has 
power  to  kill  the  love  of  a  true  heart  ;  that  lives 
on  forever  and  ever  and,  phoenix-like,  exists  on  its 


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